Flower
by Kakashis-First-Kiss
Summary: Sequel to Broken, but can stand alone. Itachi's flower has been repossessed into Akatsuki, and the pain is twice as bad the second time around. ItaKaka, KisaKaka.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well, this is it, peoples!! The sequel to Broken! It's better as a sequel, but it can stand alone. No one gave me any feedback by way of rating, so for now I'm just going to stick with T. So, if you have any rating ****preferences,**** review now or forever hold your peace.**

**Enjoy the ****fic!!**

Itachi exhaled slowly, walking down to Kisame's room. The shark-man had been on the same mission for a week now: what could he possibly be doing? Itachi had gotten bored fairly quickly, and he was headed over to Kisame's room to see what he could fool around with. Maybe Kisame had an unfinished mission report he could finish…

Itachi opened the door to his partner's room, slipped in, and closed the door again. He exhaled slowly, running a hand through his black bangs, and walked over to Kisame's desk. Papers were piled haphazardly all over; pens and pencils were dumped on top of those; several books had been thrown on top of the mess. Itachi began absently rifling through the junk, searching for anything of particular value. Old mission reports…receipts for food, equipment, and other crap…books of…God knows what…a slave authorization?! Itachi picked up the paper, red eyes running over the paper. It was signed with Pein's signature alright, and it was simply saying that Kisame had permission to keep a specific prisoner as a slave, and, as his slave, Kisame could do whatever he wanted to him. Itachi sighed. Ever since Kakashi, six months ago, he had hated even the thought of the practice of slavery, despite how common it was in Akatsuki. Itachi sighed and dropped the paper back to the desk, trying to think about how this had happened. He glanced down, checking the date on the paper.

"Three weeks ago?!"

Itachi resisted the urge to slam his head into the wall. Either he had been treating this new slave very nicely, or he was even crueler than ever.

The floor creaked behind him.

Itachi whipped around, kunai at the ready, only to see a small figure shying away from him. When the male yelped and darted away, Itachi realized that this must be Kisame's slave.

His hair was a light silver, falling into his face and almost gracing his slender shoulders, which were shaking with fear. He had a layer of bandages wrapped around one eye: his left. The other, however, screamed of his agony. The eye was something between a deep black and a stormy gray, something Itachi thought was very unique. The male's features were very attractive, but beauty could hardly be shown in his state. Blood and bruises covered his face and most of his body, and several other unknown substances covered the rest. A pair of pants and a shirt were all that he had to cover himself, but apparently it was enough. Bandages had been wrapped around his arms, legs, and torso in several places, but they were few and far between. Kisame wasn't the kind of person to take care of his possessions, apparently…

"You must be Kisame's slave."

The male slowly nodded, still backing away and trembling with fear. When Itachi stepped towards him, he suddenly seemed to panic, falling to his knees and gasping, but never doing more than that. His trembling got worse and worse with every passing moment, and Itachi could see that he was afraid of him. He took another step towards him-

And the trembling stopped.

"Itachi-sama…?"

Itachi was taken aback by the sudden recognition on the slave's part: however, he hardly recognized the other. "H-Have we met?" he stammered, stopping in his tracks. The slave nodded frantically, and gazed up at Itachi. Itachi's heart skipped a beat: it couldn't be-!

"No…no, I let him go! I brought him back…!"

The slave shook his head and slowly stood up, his eyes pleading with Itachi. "Itachi-sama, please!"

Itachi shuddered and stepped back. It couldn't be…it just couldn't be…

_"What are you doing?!"_

The slave suddenly yelped and fled at Kisame's voice, and Kisame stormed in, dropping Samehada just inside the door. "Sorry about that," he muttered. "Wasn't bothering you too much, was he?"

Still a bit shaken, Itachi wordlessly shook his head. "Not at all…" he said.

"So, what brings you here?" Kisame asked, stretching his arms up over his head. "Since you obviously got here before me…"

Itachi shook his head. He would lie and say he heard something, but then the slave would get in trouble…and he couldn't exactly say he was bored, so he started snooping…

"Pein asked if we had any mission reports left to hand in," Itachi finally said. "I came to check and see if you had any."

Kisame shook his head. "Nope, got 'em all in. You?"

Itachi nodded. "Just checking…"

Kisame nodded. "Sure. Okay, whatever. You can stay, go, whatever…"

Itachi slowly nodded. "I'll be out of your way," he said, just as slowly as he had nodded. He headed towards the door, and his hand was on the knob when he turned around and asked, "Where'd you get the slave?"

"Picked him up off a mission," Kisame said. "He gets a little bratty, but you just have to show him who's boss."

Itachi nodded and continued, "What village?"

"Konoha."

OOOOOOOOO

Itachi's heart leaped to his throat the second he heard the village's name. He hurriedly closed the door behind him, rushing back to his room and collapsing on the couch, taking deep breaths. "It's not Kakashi," he told himself. "He said this one was a little bratty-it couldn't possibly be Kakashi…he's too sweet." But a tiny voice in the back of his mind whispered, _He said the same about Kakashi. He beat him, even when he had done nothing wrong. He said he was defiant and disobedient…it must be!_

"No."

Itachi stood up, pacing the room. "God, I'm going insane," he muttered. "Normal people talk to themselves. Insane people argue…but they lose! _Aw, shit!"_

Itachi groaned and fell back to the couch, putting his face in his hands. Did he really miss Kakashi that much? Maybe it was time to take a trip down to see his love…it had been too long. No doubt Kakashi was missing him…Itachi sighed. His mind was definitely made up, though. Once a thought got into his head, he couldn't resist acting upon it until he had done so. Itachi knew he would have to find out, or accept that it was Kakashi.

But he wasn't sure which one he wanted to do more.

OOOOOOOOO

Kisame could hear the soft sobs coming from his room the second Itachi left.

It annoyed him no end that he had gone through all this trouble for a useless brat who did nothing but cry. But at least he did what he was told…Kisame thought he was slow and stupid, but Pein seemed to recognize intelligence and the desire to please in the slave's eyes, and so he was allowed to keep the slave. Kisame couldn't care less about his name: he was just a dumb beast, after all. A name for him would symbolize affection for the creature, and even if he already had one, Kisame didn't care about it. In truth, he didn't even care about the slave: he just needed a pretty fuck whenever he wanted one. He also needed something he could take his emotions out on, and it would also be lovely to have someone else do the chores and dirty work around the apartment…

"Get in here, slave!" Kisame finally bellowed, becoming impatient with the slave rather quickly. _"Get in here!"_

The slave came quietly, silent tears streaking down his face. The sobbing had subsided, but the tears still flowed.

"Oh, what did you do this time?" Kisame snarled. "You look like you know you're about to be punished."

The slave his shook his head, kneeling at Kisame's feet and murmuring, "I-I just…he…Itachi-sama…that is…"

"Speak, animal!" Kisame growled, kicking the slave in his prominent ribs. The poor creature yelped with pain, skittering back away from Kisame.

"I'm sorry, please, don't-!"

"Shut up."

The slave's mouth snapped shut, but a single tear fell down his cheek. Kisame raised a hand and slapped him, firmly and harshly, sending him into another sobbing fit. The slave refused to move, though: he simply knelt there, at his captor's feet, and cried. He knew if he moved he would be punished, but this was too much.

"Now, if you're going to speak, do it," Kisame snapped, leaning back. "Otherwise, get out of my sight!"

"Y-You asked me a question, K-Kisame-s-sama," the slave whimpered. "I-I was doing m-my best t-to answer you…"

"So do it!"

The slave flinched back at Kisame's biting words, but shakily replied, "H-He didn't recognize me…"

"What? You mean Itachi?" Kisame asked, kicking his feet up on the coffee table in front of the couch. "Not surprised," he continued. "Probably forgot about you after he threw you out. I'm not surprised he threw you back, either. Always did hate you."

The slave lowered his head, another silent drop of pain sliding down his cheek. He said nothing, but his pain was still evident.

"Y-You called me, Kisame-sama?" he finally whispered, still kneeling at Kisame's feet. Kisame's face broke into a grin.

"As a matter of fact, I did," he said, standing. He dug his foot into the slave's ribs, and the male yelped in pain, scrambling to his feet. Kisame's hands traced around his back, looping across his shoulders as well.

"I'm feeling a little lonely tonight," he murmured, leaning down to claim the slave's lips in a harsh, bruising kiss. "I want you to sleep with me."

The slave knew he had no choice. He submitted quietly to Kisame's desires, accepting his punishment for existing with silent sobs and desperate tears of pain.

OOOOOOOOOO

Itachi woke up the next morning unable to take his mind off the slave.

Whether or not it was who he thought it was was another matter completely. Itachi had never really been sure of what he thought of the salve: when he first saw him, his first thought had been one of pity. Then, he had skipped to sympathy, then empathy. Then, finally, recognition. He knew who it was, alright: he just didn't want to accept that he had fallen back into Akatsuki's hands.

Sighing, Itachi got up and dressed himself, grabbing something to eat on his way out. He finished and headed over to Kisame's room.

The shark-man answered immediately.

"What?" he asked, seeing Itachi.

"Where's the slave?" Itachi asked. "I want to see him."

"Little demanding, huh?" Kisame asked, a smile breaking out over his face. "Whatever. I'm not sure where he is, he disappeared after he got breakfast on the table."

"I'll find him," Itachi said, sweeping past Kisame.

"He comes when he's called," Kisame called after Itachi.

Itachi shook his head. "I'd rather find him," he said simply. "Besides, there's not much to look through."

OOOOOOOOO

The slave could hear Kisame telling someone else that "he would come when he was called." Then, the voice of Itachi came towards him, replying, "I'd rather find him." The slave's heart leapt into his throat when he heard this: why was Itachi so bent on finding him and speaking to him alone? He curled up in his corner, a blanket wrapped around his body. Kisame had treated him especially harshly the night before, and he doubted he would ever see his shirt again.

"Where are you?"

Itachi's voice broke through his thoughts, and the slave suddenly gasped and recoiled, fully expecting a blow as Itachi approached him. "It's okay, I won't hurt you," Itachi said, crouching down in front of the slave. "Come here, it's okay…"

The slave seemed to have that one moment of recognition again: he suddenly sprang into Itachi's arms, throwing his arms around Itachi's neck and sobbing into the Uchiha's shoulder. When was the last time he had been able to do this? Certainly not for six months past, now…

"Sh, sh, sh," Itachi consoled, reaching up and caressing the slave's hair. "Sh, sh, sh…sh, it's alright, you're going to be okay…" The slave found comfort in Itachi's embrace: so warm, so welcoming, so familiar…

"Listen to me, okay?" Itachi whispered, looking the slave in the eye. "I need to know who you are," he continued, voice still low. "I want your name. All of it."

The slave let out a shuddering sigh and wiped the tears off his face with the back of his hand, including the moisture that had dripped down from the soaked bandages covering his eye. He looked up at Itachi, then away; then back at Itachi. All the while, Itachi waited patiently for the slave, holding him in his lap and gently kissing him.

"Come on," he prodded, kissing him again. "Who are you?"

Finally, the slave looked back up at him, black eye burning bright, and asked, "You don't know me?"

Itachi looked like he had been slapped. "It's not…it can't be…"

"Please Itachi-sama!" the slave begged, sliding out of Itachi's lap and falling on his knees. "Please, I've missed you so much! Please, please tell me you haven't forgotten me! Please, tell me you still love me! Don't do this to me, please don't! Please, tell me you still love me!"

Itachi was stunned by the sudden outburst. Then it was true…

"Love…" he whispered. "I-I never forgot you," he said, trailing a hand down the side of his lover's face. "I never stopped thinking about you…I just didn't want to believe that you were being hurt this badly again…"

The slave shook his head, crowding into Itachi's chest again and crying again. Itachi wrapped his arms around him and kissed down on his silky hair, whispering to the slave,

"Love, I never forgot you…I would never dream of that…love…Kakashi…I've missed you so…"

**A/N: So fluffy…so far, this is T, but if anyone has preferences, be sure to let me know, otherwise I will follow my heart for this one. ****Review,**** or you see no more of this!! It'll be shorter than Broken, I believe, but it'll probably be more powerful and more dramatic. ****So! review, or no next chapter!!**


	2. Chapter 2

Kakashi slept soundly for the first time in three weeks.

The knowledge that Itachi knew about him, loved him, and cared about him filled Kakashi's heart with something he had been missing for a while: happiness. He curled up in his corner when Kisame went to bed, a blanket covering his small body, and fell asleep almost immediately. He woke up in the morning feeling refreshed and got breakfast on the table, then settled in his corner again, picking up a book he had found a week ago. He read it whenever he could to pass the time and to help him out of his misery. So far, Kisame seemed not to care, as long as Kakashi continued to be his submissive little slave. Kakashi opened the book to the page he remembered leaving off at and began reading. He vaguely registered Kisame getting up and going to eat breakfast, and then coming back and getting dressed and then heading over to the bathroom. He set down the book, placing a small piece of paper in it to mark his place. Standing up, Kakashi made his way to the kitchen and stood quietly next to the entrance. He knew Kisame preferred him close at all times.

Kisame entered the kitchen wordlessly, and just as wordlessly ate his breakfast. When he stood up, Kakashi immediately began to clear the table, and Kisame walked out, slamming the door behind him as he went. Kakashi gave a sigh of relief: alone at last.

The door opened again.

Kakashi shivered once, and then continued working. Kisame hated it when he stopped for any reason-

"Love?"

Kakashi almost dropped the dish he was holding. "Itachi-sama!"

Itachi smiled and approached Kakashi cautiously, knowing how skittish the jounin had gotten. Kakashi set down what he was carrying and embraced Itachi, falling into the Uchiha's chest with another soft sigh of relief.

"Missed you," Itachi whispered, kissing Kakashi's silver hair.

"Missed you, too," Kakashi murmured, tightening his grip on Itachi. Two days had passed since he had seen the missing-nin, and those two days were the longest of Kakashi's life.

"Come here," Itachi said softly, running his hands up and down Kakashi's back. He could feel Kakashi's shivers of pain when he touched a bruise or a cut-it pained him as much as it pained Kakashi. Itachi hated his love's pain: it killed him inside.

"What happened, love?" he whispered, stroking Kakashi's hair. "Did he do something else to you?"

Kakashi nodded, and Itachi almost immediately felt stupid for asking such a stupid question. "Do you want to talk about it?" he whispered, kissing Kakashi's forehead. Kakashi shook his head, and Itachi sighed.

"This has to stop," he said. "It's too much, you poor thing."

Kakashi blushed at the attention and wrapped his arms around Itachi's neck. "Thank you Itachi-sama, but…you saw the permission form. Kisame has Pein himself giving him permission to do whatever he wants to me…we can't go up against that! We just can't…! Itachi-sama, I'm sorry…much as I would like to be with you, I-I can't…"

Itachi knew Kakashi was on the verge of tears: for which of three reasons, he didn't know. Either Kakashi feared a blow, he wanted to get away from Kisame, or he wanted to be with Itachi.

"Sh, sh, sh, love," Itachi whispered, wiping away the first of Kakashi's tears. "Stop, it's okay…stop, don't cry…"

Kakashi tried to hold in the tears, but two days of abuse suddenly came pouring out. "I'm sorry!" he sobbed, clutching at Itachi. "Please don't hit me, I can't stop!" he cried, clinging to his lover. "Don't leave me like everyone else did, please don't! Don't hit me-!"

"Kakashi! How could you even think that?" Itachi gasped. "I would never…not to save my life!"

Kakashi seemed a bit reassured at this: he shuddered once in Itachi's arms, burying himself deeper into the Uchiha's embrace. "Come here," Itachi whispered, kissing Kakashi's full, soft lips. He could feel the shock passing through them the second his lips pressed to Kakashi's: he was certain his love felt it too. The way Kakashi melted into his arms, the way he seemed to submit completely to you, the way he kissed you back-

"Dare may I ask what's going on in here?"

Itachi broke away from Kakashi with a start, and Kakashi immediately yelped and darted behind Itachi. "I came in to check on him," Itachi said slowly, backing away from Kisame and taking Kakashi into his arms. "It sounded horrible in here for a while…"

"He's fine, give him to me," Kisame grunted. "And why wait until I was gone to do this?" he asked, grabbing Kakashi's wrist as soon as he could. A heart-wrenching sob burst from Kakashi's throat the second he was grabbed, and again as he was smacked and thrown to the floor. "Stupid!" Kisame shouted. "Can't you do anything right? Go to your room, scram!" Kakashi yelped as he was spanked and almost tumbled to the floor again as he flew past Itachi into his room, sobbing uncontrollably. Itachi sighed and glared at Kisame for abusing Kakashi again.

"That was totally my fault!" he protested. "Why are you hitting him?"

"How I treat my slave is none of your business!" Kisame growled. "Nor should it be! And Itachi, for your sake, I hope you never come in here again!"

Itachi was struck by Kisame's words. For a moment, the only expression on his face was one that looked like he had been slapped. Then, Itachi's jaw locked and he spun on his heel, heading straight for Kakashi's room.

"I'll be out in a minute."

OOOOOOOOO

Kakashi almost fainted when he saw the shadow looming above him.

He gasped and shot backwards, burying his face in his hands and sobbing even harder. Muffled cries of "Don't hit me" and "please don't hurt me" could be heard between his sobs, and Itachi's heart almost shattered from the pain Kakashi was feeling.

"Love, it's me…Kakashi, come here…Kakashi, I'm not going to hurt you."

Kakashi's breath hitched in his throat when he heard Itachi's voice, and he looked up into the Uchiha's face. Itachi took Kakashi into his lap, kissing him and holding him close. "I can't do anything right now," he whispered, "But I'm going to appeal to Pein and see what I can do," he continued, stroking Kakashi's hair. "Just be strong, love," he said softly, kissing Kakashi again. "You can make it through this, I promise."

He stood up, leaving Kakashi with another kiss and a whispered comfort.

"I'm sorry."

OOOOOOOOOO

Kisame sighed as Itachi left the room. He had been concerned about Itachi finding out for a while now, and he knew this was going to happen at some point. He had just hoped that it would be a little longer…he sighed again and sat down at the table, pondering what to do now. No way Pein was going to allow Itachi to step in, but knowing Itachi was discontented might sway things at a later date. And the rest of the Akatsuki was attached to Kakashi as well last time Kisame had gone against the grain and beat the snot out of the brat…

"Get in here," he barked, hearing Kakashi's sobs die down a bit. Kakashi crept out of his room slowly, obviously fearing a strike.

"H-Hai…Kisame-sama…?"

"Come," Kisame said flatly, not even bothering to turn and face his slave as he hesitantly approached his master.

"H-Hai?"

Kisame greeted Kakashi with a firm backhand and rough kick that sent the jounin flying. Kakashi yelped with pain and surprise: he didn't expect his punishment so soon. Kisame stood up and seized Kakashi's wrist, dragging him up and shoving him into the wall.

"Disobey me one more time," he snarled, nails raking long cuts down Kakashi's sides. "I dare you. Stupid little animal!"

Kakashi's screams of pain could be heard all through the lair.

OOOOOOOOO

"But Leader-sama!"

"But _what_, Itachi?!" Pein screamed, voice escalating even more. He and Itachi had been going at it for close to fifteen minutes now, and neither had gotten far.

_"What _I'm getting at here is he's being abused unfairly! _Again!"_

"Well, get used to it! It's not changing any time soon!"

"How could you give your permission for this to happen when you know full well what's involved?!"

"How you can challenge my authority is an equal mystery!"

"I can challenge it by lack of right to be a leader!"

"I'm sure you can! But you're still a rotten teenager who doesn't know their place around here!"

_"What did you say, you little shit?!"_

"The two of you knock it off!"

Konan entered the room hands over her ears. "Jeez, I think you're louder than Kakashi! Yes, I can hear the poor thing," she added, seeing Itachi's and Pein's questioning looks. "And if you could shut your mouths for two seconds, you probably could, too!"

She sighed as another scream and more sobbing could be heard from above and picked up her Akatsuki cloak. "I have the authority to stop him, and that's what I'm going to do," she muttered, pulling the cloak over her shoulders. "Anyone else coming?"

"I will," Itachi said in a heartbeat. If Kakashi was involved, so was he!

Konan exited the room, leaving Pein behind.

OOOOOOOOO

Kakashi was thrown to the floor once again, sobbing and crying. Kisame kicked him in the side, where a number of bruises were forming already. Kakashi let out another choked sob and clutched at his sides, weakly trying to shield himself from another blow. Kisame simply kicked at his hands until the pain in those was so bad Kakashi was forced to move his hands to avoid those being kicked. And then his sides were kicked, and he had hardly gotten anywhere from the start. Kisame had settled for keeping Kakashi against the wall and throwing punches, but then Kakashi had desperately tried to get away and Kisame had simply thrown him to the ground and started kicking him, threatening to break his ribs. Kakashi's cries of pain and fear had escalated during the abuse, despite Kisame's best efforts to keep him quiet.

The door was flung open.

Konan stormed in, slugging Kisame across the face and turning right around to extend her arms to Kakashi. The jounin only cried harder and skittered back from her hand, choking out "I want Itachi."

Itachi came, of course; only a second behind Konan. He approached Kakashi from the side, immediately pulling him into his lap and wrapping his arms around him. He kissed Kakashi's soft lips, whispering sweet nothings to him and holding the jounin's head to his shoulder. Kakashi clung to Itachi like a burr, throwing his arms around his neck and burying his face in the dark fabric of the Akatsuki cloak. Konan held her hands to Kakashi's sides while Itachi kept him distracted, healing chakra seeping into the bruises and cracked ribs and vanishing them away. Itachi eventually persuaded Kakashi to lift one hand at a time to let Konan heal him.

"Kakashi, calm down," Itachi said, stroking his silver hair. "Love, I'm here, calm down…Kakashi!"

Kakashi gave no indication he had heard Itachi's words, only letting out another sob and tightening his grip on Itachi. Itachi sighed and glanced at Konan.

"Any help here?" he murmured, leaning in close to her. Konan shook her head.

"Just comfort him, I guess," she said slowly. "I can give you permission to hold him as your own for a week max, but nothing more. If Pein's awarded him to Kisame, then there's only so much I can do. Take him, and I'll work it out between Kisame and Pein. Count on having him for five days."

Itachi nodded and carefully stood up, pulling Kakashi up with him. "Come on, love," he said quietly, kissing Kakashi's hair. "Can you walk?"

Kakashi shook his head, and Itachi sighed. He picked him up anyway, putting his arms around Kakashi's shoulders and legs, supporting him as carefully as he could as he carried his love down the hallway and into his own room. He laid Kakashi down on the bed and sat down next to him, ready to just collapse with Kakashi in his arms.

Kakashi squeaked and jumped away.

Itachi sighed, realizing what must have been done to Kakashi to cause this fear. He held out his hand to Kakashi, trying to coax him closer.

"Love, come here," he murmured. "Kakashi, come here, it's okay…come here, it's alright, I'm not going to hurt you…it's okay, come here…Kakashi, come here."

It took Itachi a full ten minutes just to convince Kakashi to come to him, and Itachi was satisfied with that. He picked Kakashi up again and carried him back outside the bedroom, this time settling on the couch. Kakashi curled up quite comfortably there, settled in the curve of Itachi's arms and leaning his head against the Uchiha's shoulder. Itachi stayed there for a long time; how long he would never know, and he didn't even want to know. He just sat there, holding Kakashi, watching the tears fall down his lover's face.

Itachi's flower had blossomed again.

**A/N: Sorry about the delay, my parents were being asses and shut down my internet for some screwed up reason… . Took me forever to get it back. Anyway, updates might be scattered a bit while I find a good proxy site to get around Parental Controls. But for now, I think I have one. Just a warning, time limits might also prove to be a pisser. However, I am working on a new Master Code I got from some dude off the net, so I might have something good ****afterall****…wow, life story here. Cookies and cake to those who read it all!! I love you!!**

**Oh, and ****ashley**** () thank you for your constant reviews. I love you!!**


	3. Chapter 3

Itachi spent the rest of the night holding Kakashi.

He had to sleep on the couch that night because of Kakashi's fear, but it was worth it. Just to be able to hold him again, to kiss him, to touch him, to feel his smooth skin shivering under his touch-

"Itachi-sama?"

Kakashi had seemingly just woken up, and he was staring placidly at Itachi, a certain calmness in his eyes that Itachi had never seen before. "Yes, my love?" Itachi murmured, sitting up. Kakashi blushed and ducked his head.

"I-I'm so sorry t-to bother you," he stammered, trying to find the right words, "B-But…"

"Hungry? Thirsty? Tired?"

"A-All of the above…"

Itachi nodded and stood up, motioning for Kakashi to follow him. The jounin did so without question, trailing after Itachi as he was led to the kitchen. Itachi poured him a glass of water and let him drink while he pulled out some leftover ramen and heated it up.

"Kakashi, how did you get back here?"

Kakashi looked down, clearly ashamed of the answer. Itachi glanced at him, concerned. When Kakashi finally answered, his voice was so soft and subdued that Itachi had to strain to hear him, even though he was right next to him.

"Kisame-sama came back to Konoha," he said softly. "He came to me and told me…to get up and come with him…or he'd kill me…" Itachi could see the tears blossoming in Kakashi's dark eyes and took Kakashi into his arms, letting the jounin rest his head against his shoulder. "I-I tried to tell him no, I t-tried t-to fight…" Kakashi's voice was faltering and breaking, but Itachi held him still. "But he wouldn't l-listen…he grabbed me and hit me…a-and he…he…" Itachi knew everything he needed to know even as the tears came out and took Kakashi into the circle of his arms again. Kakashi immediately buried his face in Itachi's shoulder, sobbing his heart out.

"I-I tried to tell him no, but he…"

"Love, it's alright," Itachi whispered, stroking Kakashi's hair. "It's alright, I don't blame you for anything. It's certainly not your fault. Don't worry about it." Kakashi was shivering and shaking; Itachi pulled off his cloak and wrapped it around Kakashi's thin shoulders, trying to keep him as warm as possible. Kakashi had truly lost weight: his entire body was as frail and fragile as he had been when he had first come to Akatsuki months ago, and his ribs were clearly visible. Itachi held Kakashi closer and began rubbing his arms, trying to generate enough heat to warm Kakashi's malnourished body. Kakashi pushed himself closer to Itachi, clearly wanting the warmth.

Itachi guided Kakashi over to where he had put the ramen down and let him sit against the cabinets, on the floor. He handed Kakashi the ramen and sat next to him, handing Kakashi a pair of chopsticks. Kakashi asked no question: he ate quickly and quietly, standing and putting his bowl in the sink when he was done. Itachi rose and got Kakashi another glass of water, kissing him softly when he was finished drinking.

"Come here…"

Itachi embraced his lover, giving him another soft kiss and eventually picking him up. He carried him back to the sofa, set him down, and sat next to him. "You okay?"

Kakashi hugged his arms to his body and nodded, but Itachi wasn't convinced. Itachi scooted over and looped an arm around Kakashi's shaking shoulders, pulling him into his lap and kissing him. "What's wrong?"

Kakashi leaned against Itachi's shoulder, wrapping his arms around his lover's neck. "I…" For a moment, the word hung between them, until finally, Kakashi continued: "I must be so worthless…Itachi-sama…why am I worthless? What did I do?"

For a single breath, Itachi was only stunned. Then, the shock set in and he felt rage, disbelief, and finally sadness wash over him.

"Love, you are far from useless," Itachi finally said, taking Kakashi into his lap. "Love…Kakashi…sh, sh, sh, it's okay…you're not useless, by any standards. I take it you heard that from Kisame?"

Kakashi nodded, and Itachi sighed. "Kakashi, when did you start listening to Kisame?"

"Since he started beating me."

Itachi exhaled slowly. He had suspected as much, but he needed more information. "Kakashi, what does he do to you?"

Kakashi stiffened, but only hesitated for a moment before saying, "He hits me…every time he thinks I do something wrong. Even I'm not sure if I did something or not but…apparently I did." Kakashi's voice was still quiet and subdued, and Itachi felt a growing concern rising in his chest. "And then…almost every night, h-he wants me t-to sleep with him…" Kakashi's voice finally broke, and he tried to force down a choked whimper.

"Love…" Itachi sighed and kissed Kakashi, running his hands through the other's hair. "That's not all, is it?" he asked. Kakashi was shaking, and he looked like he was about to cry again. He shook his head with a small whimper, and curled up in Itachi's lap.

"S-Sometimes…if he's had a bad day…h-he'll whip me…and i-if he failed a mission…h-he'll even d-do it again…"

Itachi could feel his heart breaking for Kakashi and tightened his embrace around the jounin, sighing with the sudden rush of emotions. Honestly, Kakashi was the only person who could ever make him feel emotions, he swore. Itachi gently kissed Kakashi's silver hair, holding him close and stroking him as softly as he could.

"Come here, love," he murmured, placing another kiss on Kakashi's soft, pink mouth. Kakashi flinched at the contact with the bruises, but he obviously did not fear Itachi's touch, and he clearly wanted to keep going. Itachi pulled back, though, cupping Kakashi's face in his hand.

"You're beautiful," he whispered, kissing him again. "Why would anyone want to hurt you?"

"I'll tell you why!"

Itachi hardly noticed the door slamming open and Kisame standing there, all eight feet of fury. Pein stood in front of him, Konan behind, and all looking furious.

"Sorry!" Konan called from behind Kisame. "I tried!"

"Itachi, what suddenly gives you the authority to-?"

"He was being raped!" Itachi suddenly screamed, standing bolt upright. Kakashi whimpered at the sudden movement and recoiled from Itachi, settling on the couch. "When he goes that far, that's when I step in! It's just not right!"

Pein's eyes narrowed, gray rings forming dark striped slits. "Itachi, Kisame has permission to do to Kakashi whatever he wants, now hand him over!"

"No."

The word hung between them for several seconds, with Pein finally saying, "Itachi, if you won't hand him over willingly, I'll have to use force."

Itachi glared. "Oh, will you now?" he snarled, spreading his legs and dropping into a crouch. "Don't you dare even touch him or so help me God, I will make sure you die the slowest, most painful death a human can die!"

Pein sighed. "Itachi, it's two against one-"

"Two people, both of whom I have already beaten the living shit out of."

Pein sighed. "Itachi, I'm sorry."

Itachi wasted no time as the other two shinobi rushed him: he grabbed Kakashi, sweeping the injured jounin into his arms, and leaping out the window. He took off for the woods, knowing Kisame and Pein were right behind him. He ducked around to the other side of the hideout, heading for the beach. He knew a back way he could get out-but not before-

Pein was suddenly in front of him, shoving Itachi to the ground and ripping Kakashi from his arms. He darted away and, as Itachi moved to follow he found an enormous shark-man in his way. But by the time he had gotten around him, he had lost sight of Pein.

OOOOOOOOO

Pein threw Kakashi to the floor, kicking him hard in the jounin's prominent ribs. Itachi's cloak was still clutched about his fragile body, and Kakashi found himself suddenly freezing as the cloak was brutally stripped away.

Pein was silent, just staring down at the sobbing slave for the longest time. A false hope began to dawn in Kakashi: maybe he wasn't going to be punished as harshly; maybe they wouldn't even touch him tonight! Maybe it would be better…but no such luck. Pein leaned down, seizing Kakashi's wrist and dragging him up, binding him fast and pulling him after him as he yanked Kakashi into his room. Kakashi's violent protests fell against numb hands; his pleas fell on deaf ears. His sobs were heard by none, and cared for by none. And as Pein proceeded with his brutal whipping and beating, Kakashi could only cry out in fear, pain, and longing.

Longing for someone he knew would never come.

OOOOOOOOO

Itachi angrily stormed into his room, kicking the refrigerator on his way into the living room. He sat down on the couch, holding his bangs between his fingers. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself…ad failing miserably. He could swear he heard Kakashi screaming from Pein's room below him, and groaned aloud. He hated being so powerless! He hated having to take seeing his love abused, over and over again, for no good reason! And he hated Kisame, above all else. Why did his partner have to be so difficult? Why did he hate Kakashi so much? There were so many questions, and Itachi could only guess at the answers.

"Itachi?"

Itachi glanced up to see Konan standing next to him. He sighed and shook his head, trying to tell her he wasn't in the mood to talk. Konan only sat down on the couch, right next to him, and sighed.

"Well, on the bright side, you have a chance…"

"Hardly," Itachi said. "Every waking moment of his here will only be suffering, even with me. Because then there is that constant fear, and the knowledge that he will always have to go back to that horrible life he had with Kisame, and it ruins everything." Itachi sighed and rubbed his temples. "That's why I let him go to begin with," he said, pulling off his ninja headband. "So he wouldn't have to go through that anymore…" He sighed again and placed his forehead in one hand, letting his other arm rest across his knee, headband dangling from his hand. "I just can't stand it…"

Konan nodded slowly, "I agree, bad attempt at comfort…"

Itachi nodded and lifted his head, letting his other hand flop down across his thigh. "Well, what now?"

Konan leaned back, blowing a piece of hair out of her face. "Dunno," she said, voice resigned. "We could keep fighting, but it probably wouldn't do a whole lot of good…"

Itachi sighed for the third time. "Depending on how we do it…"

Konan shook her head. "I suppose in the end…all we can do is wait."

OOOOOOOOO

Kakashi knelt on the ground, wrists suspended above his head, stretched out like he was reaching for something far out of his grasp. Blood trickled down his back, between his legs, and it was coated on his face. Kakashi was completely naked again, and the bruises all over his pale skin were frightfully visible now. He was shaking from the cold, from fear, and from pain, and all three together were tearing him apart from the inside out. Pein stood behind Kakashi, admiring his handiwork as he pulled his clothes back on.

"Pathetic."

With that, he delivered a swift kick to Kakashi's bruised and bleeding side, extracting a few more sobs of pain from Kakashi until he finally quieted down. Pein simply walked, slamming the door and leaving Kakashi behind. He would deal with him in the morning…

As Kakashi knelt in front of the wall, trying to free himself, he couldn't help but ask himself: what had he done to deserve this? Had he done something wrong? Had he displeased his masters? What had he done to merit such abuse? There had to be a reason…Kakashi's head slowly lowered, silver hair falling onto tear-stained cheeks. There had to be a reason…! Didn't there…? Kakashi let out a small, choked sob escape his throat, before unconsciousness claimed his broken soul.

**A/N: I am so sorry for the late update, everyone!! My computer is having trouble loading the new login page, and so I couldn'****t get anything up!! T.****T ****Review, please-it encourages me!!**


	4. Chapter 4

Itachi knew Kisame and Pein had both left on separate missions a few minutes ago; he had waited to make sure they was safely gone before venturing into the leader's room, searching for Kakashi. He didn't want to leave the jounin alone for too long, but he also didn't want Pein coming back and stumbling upon the two of them-especially Itachi. Then he would certainly suspect something.

Itachi snuck down to Pein's room, opening the door on soundless hinges. He closed it just as quietly behind him and glanced around, looking for Kakashi in the slightly-darkened room. Seeing no one, he proceeded to the next likely place-Pein's bedroom.

And there he was.

Hanging from his bonds, blood dripping down his whole body, and just waking up from unconsciousness, was Kakashi, tear-streaked face begging for mercy. Itachi gasped at the sight of Kakashi, beaten and bloody. He approached slowly, watching his love and speaking to him softly.

"Kakashi…Kakashi, love, don't move, okay? You'll only hurt yourself more-just hold still for a moment, I'll get you out, I promise. Love…Kakashi, love, come on, answer me," Itachi pleaded with Kakashi, reaching out and touching the jounin's shoulder. Kakashi suddenly yelped and shrank away from Itachi's touch, breaking into sobs again and begging Itachi not to hurt him. Itachi soothed him with quiet words, kissing Kakashi as gently as he could and reaching up, moving a hidden kunai into his palm from his sleeve to cut Kakashi's wrists free. Kakashi fell into Itachi's arms almost immediately, sobbing frantically and clutching at Itachi as if there was no tomorrow. He just seemed relieved to be rescued from this hell-hole Pein called a room, and Itachi could see why. He carefully wrapped Kakashi in his own Akatsuki cloak again, then gently picked him up and carried him up to his room. Kakashi tried to withhold his sobs the entire way, but failed upon reaching Itachi's door. He finally just burst out crying, and wouldn't stop until Itachi had set him down on the floor in the kitchen, given him a glass of water and a slice of bread to calm his nerves, and sat down on the floor across from him. Then, Kakashi finally quieted, and Itachi gave a small sigh of relief.

"Love?" Itachi said finally, when Kakashi had finished eating, "Can you tell me what happened?"

Kakashi shook his head, putting his hands in his lap, his head going down and silver hair falling into his face. Itachi sighed and pulled Kakashi into his lap, stroking his hair and kissing him softly. "Oh, Kakashi…what have they done to you…?"

Kakashi pressed his face to Itachi's shoulder, both hands clenched in Itachi's shirt helplessly. He lay out across the missing-nin's lap, being supported only by Itachi's arms, and holding onto sanity through sheer willpower alone.

"Kakashi," Itachi finally said, "Come on, get up…I need to get you some more water…"

Kakashi whimpered and clung to Itachi, but rose with him and moved with the Uchiha. Itachi refilled Kakashi's glass with cold tap water, handing it to him and waiting as the jounin downed the entire glass.

"Not so fast, you'll make yourself sick," Itachi said, taking back the glass. "I'll wait a few minutes and give you a little more, okay?" he murmured, brushing Kakashi's bangs aside and kissing his forehead. "In the meantime," he said, "I can clean you up. Come with me, okay?"

Kakashi nodded and followed close behind Itachi, all the way to the bathroom. Itachi brought the both of them inside and turned on the water in the shower, undressing as he waited for the water to heat up. He left his boxers on, though, as reassurance to Kakashi, and maneuvered the jounin into the water before climbing in himself. He felt Kakashi immediately freeze up, and wrapped his arms around Kakashi, holding him close with one arm and washing his body off with the other hand. Kakashi buried his face in Itachi's shoulder, not daring to move, and clung to him as the hot water dripped down over both of them. Itachi washed Kakashi's tender skin as softly as he could, feeling Kakashi's shivers of pain and shaking of fear. He did his best to keep Kakashi happy and quiet, but it was fairly difficult to do, given Kakashi's state of mind.

Itachi moved slowly over Kakashi's body, using a soft cloth he normally used for himself with some soap to clean the blood off Kakashi's whip-lashed back. Every time Itachi touched a wound, Kakashi would whimper and cling to Itachi even more, as if the punishing blows were still being laid. Itachi sensed Kakashi's discomfort and stopped every now and then to calm him down again, kissing him, stroking him, and just making sure he was okay. Kakashi was gradually calming down, and he didn't seem as anxious as Itachi went over his wounds. As Itachi's hands moved lower, though, Kakashi became nervous again, and it was no secret why. Itachi moved very slowly at that point and constantly whispered reassurances to Kakashi, telling him he wouldn't be harmed. By the time Itachi reached Kakashi's inner thighs, however, the jounin was softly crying and backing away from Itachi. Itachi cleaned him off as quickly as he could, shut off the water, and wrapped Kakashi in a towel. He helped Kakashi out of the shower and grabbed a towel for himself, kissing Kakashi as gently as he could. Kakashi shivered and whimpered beneath Itachi's touch, but tried his hardest to stay quiet. He only knew of the consequences of even making a sound under Pein, and even worse under Kisame, and never wanted to go through that again.

Itachi took Kakashi to his room, got himself dressed with clean boxers and a pair of pants before handing Kakashi the same and a shirt. Itachi found a shirt for himself and waited while Kakashi got his clothes on. Itachi had gotten himself a fishnet shirt and black leather pants; Kakashi was dressed in a half-fishnet shirt and loose gray pants. Itachi took both of their towels and hung them up in the bathroom to dry, then came back to his room.

Kakashi was sound asleep on the bed.

Itachi smiled at the sight: Kakashi was so cute! He soundlessly backed out, closed the door, and left his love to sleep.

OOOOOOOOO

Kakashi woke up alone.

Fear immediately lanced through his heart when he realized he was alone: had he done something wrong again? Had Itachi abandoned him? God forbid, had Kisame or Pein come back? Kakashi huddled closer to the bed, curling up in a ball with the blankets wrapped tightly around his body, trying to keep warm.

The door opened.

Kakashi gasped and shrank back even more, until he saw it was only Itachi and sat up. Itachi sat down next to Kakashi and took him into his arms, giving him a sweet, chaste kiss and pulling him back into his lap. Itachi made sure that the blankets were still wrapped around Kakashi to keep him warm and hugged Kakashi close to his chest for the extra heat. Kakashi settled down in Itachi's lap, content for an eternity.

"Hello, love," Itachi greeted, setting another gentle kiss on Kakashi's soft, full lips. Kakashi accepted it gladly, straightening and following Itachi as the Uchiha made to pull back. Itachi smiled, realizing his love wanted more, and kissed him deeper. One hand came up to support the back of Kakashi's head, and the other hand stayed in Kakashi's lower back to hold him up and stay close to Itachi. Kakashi let out a soft moan of content: he loved Itachi and was perfectly happy to be here for the rest of his life. Itachi deepened the kiss again, tongue pushing at Kakashi's lips, asking for entrance. Kakashi's mouth opened eagerly, and Itachi shoved himself into Kakashi's mouth. He pushed himself deeper and deeper, taking in every curve and crevice of his love's mouth and tasting Kakashi's bitter-sweet taste.

"Love…" Itachi whispered between kisses. Kakashi took a deep breath and lunged right back in, begging Itachi for more. His hands found their way around Itachi's neck, and the Uchiha could feel Kakashi weakening under his touch. Kakashi whimpered with submission, and Itachi found himself unable to resist. He shoved Kakashi backwards, throwing himself on top of him and kissing him harder. Kakashi was shocked by the sudden action; too much to move as Itachi's hands ran down his body, toying with the waistband of his pants-

_"Stop it!"_

Kakashi suddenly had the voice to cry out and the strength to push Itachi away, turning onto his side and curling up again. Itachi broke away, panting and sitting up a few feet from Kakashi. Tears were streaming down his face again, and small noises of fear and pain were sliding out of his throat. Itachi carefully leaned forward and picked Kakashi up, offering him a kiss as a silent apology.

Kakashi gasped and shot away from him.

Itachi knew the jounin fully expected to be forced into sex, beaten, or thrown out like trash: instead, he was being offered comfort, and he didn't believe it was being offered to him. Itachi tried again to approach Kakashi, this time only succeeding in backing Kakashi up against the headboard and gaining a choked sob. Itachi sighed and lowered his head for a moment, thinking.

"Kakashi, Kisame's coming."

The ploy had the desired effect: Kakashi leapt into Itachi's arms as if burned, suddenly as trusting and loving as he had been minutes ago. Itachi gently stroked his hair, quieting him down and reassuring him that Kisame was nowhere around.

"Love, I'm sorry," Itachi finally said, kissing Kakashi as chastely as he could. "Now, just bear in mind that I would never force you to do anything against your will, and I would never hurt you, under any circumstances. Just keep calm, stay with me, and you'll be fine," Itachi promised, kissing Kakashi once again. "Come here…" he pulled Kakashi closer to him, running his hands up and down Kakashi's arms to try to warm him up again. Kakashi seemed to be calming down: his muscles were slowly uncoiling, and his breathing evened out a bit. His heartbeat was becoming regular again, and he seemed to be overall more at ease with Itachi.

"Love, I'm sorry," Itachi whispered, kissing Kakashi's trembling lips. "I didn't mean to hurt you, or scare you…I just love you that much."

Kakashi nodded. "Me too," he murmured. "But…the funny thing is…I still consider myself a virgin…."

Itachi smiled. "One day, I'll have to change that," he said. "When you're ready, of course."

"Might not be too long from now," Kakashi said softly, burying his face in Itachi's shoulder. His hands found their way to Itachi's shoulders again, entangling themselves in his shirt. Itachi found himself somewhat comforted by Kakashi's grip on him: maybe it was reassurance that he was okay, or maybe he just wanted to know Kakashi was safe…either way, he loved having Kakashi alone with him, just the two of them, and it seemed like there was always a tomorrow. That tomorrow would certainly bring ruin upon the both of them, but for the moment, tomorrow was just another thing to screw over. Itachi honestly couldn't care less about another day: as long as Kakashi was with him, right here, right now, everything else just seemed to fall into place. Kakashi was safe, at least for the moment, and Itachi was satisfied with reconciling himself to Kakashi. The jounin was comfortable around the Uchiha again, and Itachi was glad to have Kakashi back in his arms.

Itachi heard stomping footsteps, and suddenly his door slammed open.

In it stood Kisame.


	5. Chapter 5

Kakashi almost fainted.

Kisame was glowering and seemed unable to even speak for a moment with rage. Itachi held onto Kakashi as tight as he could, unwilling to let his love fall prey to the wrath of an angry shark-man.

"Itachi," Kisame said slowly. "What are you doing?"

Itachi returned the glare with an equal fury. "The question is, what are _you_ doing?" the Uchiha snarled, holding Kakashi to his chest. Kakashi's hands found their way around Itachi's neck, and he could feel Itachi's grip on him tighten.

"I came back because my mission was done," Kisame said, walking into the room. The door slammed shut behind him, and Kisame paced around until he was right in front of Kakashi. "So, I'd like my slave back now. Stop pampering him, he doesn't deserve it. By any standards."

"Some pampering," Itachi snorted. "It's treating him like a human. And he certainly doesn't deserve what you're giving him."

Kisame's hand flashed up, fisting in Kakashi's hair and yanking him back, out of Itachi's arms. Kakashi yelped with pain and fear, cowering as far away from Kisame as the Kiri-nin's grip would allow. He was shaking again, but still, a whispered plea slipped from his trembling lips.

"Itachi-sama…" he gasped, backing away from Kisame as much as he could. "Please, Itachi-sama, help me…"

"Oh, shut up," Kisame muttered, pulling Kakashi back and delivering him a firm kick to the ribs. Kakashi burst into sobs again, begging for Kisame to leave him alone.

"Let him go!" Itachi snarled, leaping up from the bed and facing Kisame. "You have until I count to five-!"

"Itachi, sit."

Itachi spun around at Pein's voice, suddenly even more frustrated than ever. "You seriously expect me to-?!"

_"Sit."_

_"No."_

Pein sighed and motioned to Kisame. "Take him away," he said, referring to Kakashi. The jounin's sobs and pleading redoubled, but the begging fell on deaf ears. Pein stood squarely in front of Itachi, preventing him from going after Kakashi, and the Uchiha finally sat down with a sigh. Pein gave a nod of satisfaction and swept out of the room, leaving Itachi with his head in his hands.

OOOOOOOOO

Kisame threw Kakashi to the ground, watching in amusement as the jounin scrambled back into a corner, still crying softly and curling up in a ball in a weak effort to protect himself. Kisame ignored Kakashi for a whole of fifteen minutes, reading a book, before finally closing it and standing up.

"Get over here."

Kakashi slowly stood up, a bit shaky, and wiped the tears off his face. He walked over to Kisame, head down and tears still falling, dropping into a deep bow at Kisame's feet. Kisame ignored the obvious attempt at respect from Kakashi, instead kicking him in the ribs and demanding, "Get up!" Kakashi got to his feet, clutching at his sides and whimpering. Kisame disregarded the signs of pain Kakashi was showing, instead fastening one hand around Kakashi's slender wrist.

"Now, do everything I tell you to and we won't have a problem," Kisame sneered, pulling Kakashi into his body and holding him close. "But, disobey me and…" A sadistic grin broke out over his face. "Well, you can use your imagination. Now, come here…" He pulled Kakashi back again before abruptly slamming him into the wall behind them, crushing his lips to Kakashi's. The jounin gave a startled yelp, which was covered by Kisame's abusive kiss. He struggled against Kisame, which only earned him a stinging slap. He pushed hard against the missing-nin's shoulders before balling up his fists and hammering at Kisame's chest…which only earned him a painful punch to the stomach. Kakashi began to shake, and suddenly went limp in Kisame's arms. Kisame caught the jounin and bit at his collarbone, sharp teeth digging into Kakashi's shoulder. He licked up the blood and kissed Kakashi again, this time nipping Kakashi's lips and tongue. Kakashi struggled throughout the entire affair, simply wanting Kisame away at the moment, but nothing he did even registered in Kisame's mind. He would give Kakashi a firm disciplinary kick or punch, and continue with him as he pleased. But Kakashi was fairly certain that would have happened anyway, so he accepted his punishment with a dry sob and a muffled whimper.

That was all he could do.

OOOOOOOOO

Itachi sat out on the beach, contemplating the situation he was in. He knew he needed to get Kakashi home, and fast. The abuse was getting worse by the day, and Kakashi was breaking even further-if that was even possible. He could usually be seen trailing miserably behind Kisame, beaten, starved, and filthy, forced to follow by the marks on his pale, milky skin. Itachi gave a sigh of frustration and fell backwards onto the sand. It wasn't fair! What had Kakashi ever done to deserve such torture?

A hand on his shoulder startled him.

Itachi sat bolt upright, kunai in hand, and only lowered it when he realized that the person he had almost stabbed was Sasori. He sat up again, Sasori sitting next to him, and Itachi sheathed his kunai.

"Sorry," Sasori said awkwardly. "Thought you realized I was there…"

Itachi shook his head. "It's fine," he said slowly. "Anyway…"

Sasori sighed. "It's about Kakashi…he's so much worse! Every time I see him, he's crying! The poor thing…" Sasori shook his head, staring out on the water. "This sea could be dwarfed by his tears," he murmured. "I'm surprised he has any tears left with which to cry. But still, he can, and no one seems to care…"

Itachi, too, was staring out over the water, and didn't face Sasori when he replied. "When there is pain, there are tears. Tears come from pain, you know."

Sasori nodded. "In a way, I suppose." His gaze lifted to the sky, and he leaned back on his elbows. "Itachi…how far is heaven?"

Itachi glanced over at Sasori, surprised at such a question. "I-I guess it's different for everyone," he said slowly. "I've never really thought about it…probably because I'll never get there."

"If you're truly sorry for your sins, God will forgive you."

Itachi snorted. "No way. Sorry, I can't believe that."

Sasori shrugged. "In a perfect world, you _can_ believe everything you hear."

Itachi smiled. "Uh-huh. And the mentally handicapped will lead the blind."

Sasori would have laughed had the situation not been so somber. "Well, that's what I believe, just like Hidan believes that Jashin will favor him if he commits the whole 'total destruction leave no one alive' thing…I guess it's just what you choose. Who knows, both might be true! There might be a million Gods, one for each person who believes! Or there could be one, one for everyone who has a religion, just in a different way…" he shook his head. "Ah, just rambling."

"I think it's worth it," Itachi said with a shrug. He sighed. "In a perfect world, there would be no pain…no tears…no suffering…no hurt…no…me…"

"No people like what you used to be," Sasori corrected. "You've really changed, Itachi, and it's all because of that jounin."

Itachi sighed. "He shows the moon how to glow," he said slowly. "He's sweet, he's innocent, he's beautiful, he's…he's just perfect."

"He's a flower."

OOOOOOOOO

Kakashi lay quietly for the first time in hours, still breathing a bit from when Kisame had left ten minutes ago. He let out a small whimper and jerked against the ropes that held his hands to the headboard of the bed, trying to free himself from Kisame's bonds. Still, the ropes held, and Kakashi let out a frustrated sob. He hated this! He hated how he was forced to obey, forced to submit, forced to allow dominance in the most sick of ways-! and yet somehow, he put up with it. Kakashi felt another choked sob escape his throat, and another, and then another, until finally he was crying like he was before.

Would the tears ever end? Would this heartbreak ever cease? Kakashi had no idea. This idea of a world was warped and twisted-this was hell. There was no way he was getting out: he was chained to a demon.

The door creaked open.

An sliver of light fell directly onto Kakashi's face, pearly white tears leaving clean tracks down his blood-stained face. He whimpered and closed his eyes: not again, please not again-!

Again.

OOOOOOOOO

Itachi glanced at Sasori. "How do you know-?"

Sasori smiled. "That was Hidan's name for him. Don't you remember?"

Itachi thought for a moment, then remembered when he had first introduced Kakashi to Hidan. When Kakashi had gone to take a nap, he had asked Hidan and Kakuza what they thought of Kakashi.

_"He's adorable," Hidan said. "I love him. He's very sweet, as well; like a flower. __So small and beautiful, yet so fragile and easy to harm as well.__ One wrong word could crush him, just as one misstep can crush a flower."_

Itachi smiled as the memory dawned on him. "Yeah, I remember now," he said, still staring into the sky. The sun was going down, painting the sky with brilliant hues of orange, pink, and purple. "That was an interesting encounter…but still, it was nice."

"He told me all about it later," Sasori said slowly. "He seemed pretty happy…for once…he really loved Kakashi."

"Everyone did," Itachi said with a shrug. "He's so sweet, what's not to love?"

Sasori sat up again, crossing his legs. "Apparently, Kisame and Pein see something…I'm no sure what, though…"

Itachi shrugged. "Wanna find out?"

Sasori stood up. "Way ahead of you."

OOOOOOOOO

Kakashi awoke to the icy shock of cold water, reeling from a stinging slap.

He had passed out again after Kisame had beaten him-again. He gasped and scampered away from Kisame, only to have the Kiri-nin pick up the end of the rope trailing from both of Kakashi's bound wrists and yanking his forward. Kakashi fell flat on his chest and just lay there, crying and not bothering to get up. Several swift kicks persuaded him otherwise, though, and Kakashi made it halfway to his feet before falling again with the sheer agony of standing.

"Piece of shit," Kisame muttered, sending Kakashi flying back to the floor with a harsh blow. "Just get out of here. No one wants you."

Kakashi knelt for a moment, stunned. Kisame…was actually…telling him to go…? Kakashi's mind spun before realizing that he had been set free, and immediately stood up, trying to run. Kisame's cruel grip on the rope, however, pulled him up short, and Kakashi collapsed again, dark eyes pleading with Kisame, who was laughing maniacally. "Just had to do that," he said and released the rope, firmly kicking Kakashi in his prominent, bloody ribs. "Now get."

Kakashi wasted no time: he bolted from the room, frayed rope falling from his wrists at the tug of a knot. Kakashi stumbled down the hallway, trying his best to run and flee Kisame's room. He knew Kisame was using this as a prank: he would say Kakashi broke out during the night and get Pein to go nuts on him next. But still, Kakashi wanted the comfort of his true lover, and strangely enough, the one that _hadn't_ taken his virginity. Kakashi finally collapsed at Itachi's door, too exhausted to take another step.

_Itachi-sama…please…please, please, __find__ me…_

OOOOOOOOO

Itachi was just coming back to his room as he heard a thump.

His heart picked up, and he rounded the corner to see Kakashi curled up on the floor in front of his door, crying like there was no tomorrow. Itachi gasped and ran over to Kakashi, sweeping him up into his arms and sitting down against the wall. Sasori was right behind him, jogging at a tamer pace around the corner and stopping next to Kakashi and Itachi. Itachi was whispering calming, sweet nothings to Kakashi, trying to get him to calm down. Kakashi, however, refused to calm, and simply cried, clutching at Itachi for fear of being cast away, thrown out like the trash he had been treated as for the past month.

"Baby," Itachi finally murmured, kissing Kakashi's bruised lips. Kakashi yelped with pain, sobs suddenly redoubled, and buried his face in Itachi's shoulder. "Love, it's alright, I've got you, you're safe…oh, Kakashi…" Itachi held onto Kakashi as tight as he could without causing the jounin further pain, kissing him where he could and using the shaky control he had left over his chakra to heal the livid bruises speckling Kakashi's fair skin. Kakashi leaned into the touches, still crying and just wanting someone to hold him at the time. Itachi's hands drifted over the many bruises and cuts on Kakashi's face and stomach, including the torn skin on his lips, shoulders, and stomach from where Kisame had bit him. The bites were harsh as well, and Itachi felt every ounce of Kakashi's pain as his own.

"Love," he finally murmured, wiping a bit of blood off Kakashi's face, "Come with me, I'm going to clean you up…" Itachi slowly stood, helping Kakashi do the same, and unlocked his room, taking Kakashi inside and allowing Sasori to come in behind them.

"Lock the door, please, and jam it with a chair or something," he said quietly to Sasori. "I want to keep him safe as long as possible."


	6. Chapter 6

Itachi led Kakashi into the bathroom, sitting him down against the wall across from the sink and grabbing several towels. He ran them under hot water, warming the towels enough for Kakashi's sensitive skin. He wasn't going to risk a shower at this point; maybe when Kakashi was a bit more stable. He put a small bit of soap on one of the towels and used a clean one to dampen Kakashi's skin before using the soaped towel to clean him off more. He rinsed the soap off with a third towel, this one pure water, and dried the area with a fourth, dry towel. Itachi worked on each section of Kakashi's body in turn, making sure not to make any sudden movements. Kakashi was slowly calming down; Itachi suspected it was because he could smell Sasori's cooking in the next room. Finally, Itachi stripped Kakashi down to boxers and cleaned off his legs, hearing Kakashi's whimpers like screams. He sighed as he realized that washing Kakashi's thighs would have to do, and gave Kakashi a soft kiss as reassurance he wouldn't be harmed. He stood up, leaving the towels in a pile, and went into his room to get Kakashi some clean clothes. He came back quickly, but Kakashi was still tearing up when he did come back. Itachi sighed, taking Kakashi's fragile form into his arms and kissing him.

"You okay?" he murmured, stroking Kakashi's hair. Kakashi shrugged.

"I am now," he said softly, leaning against Itachi's shoulder and wrapping his arms around the Uchiha's neck. "I'm just happy you came back for me…" Itachi's heart warmed at the comment, and he tightened his embrace on Kakashi. He handed the jounin a shirt and pants and waited while he got dressed. Kakashi came right back to him, putting his arms around his neck again and standing against Itachi. Itachi found himself quite comfortable, just standing there with Kakashi, and almost didn't want to move when he heard Sasori calling the two of them to eat. Kakashi glanced up at Itachi, as if asking for permission to go.

"Go on," Itachi said, giving Kakashi a gentle push. "I'm right behind you," he assured, and Kakashi started for the kitchen. Itachi walked right behind him the entire time, and sat next to Kakashi at the table. Sasori sat across from Itachi, and both started eating immediately. Kakashi waited for a minute, then began to slowly eat. Itachi and Sasori somehow finished after Kakashi, and the jounin cleared the entire table.

"Learned to eat quickly, or just that hungry?" Sasori asked. Kakashi shrugged.

"Both, I guess," he said, taking Sasori's plate and putting it in the sink. He sat down again when he had finished, and Itachi glanced at him.

"You want anything else?" he asked. "Glass of water?"

"I'm okay," Kakashi said. He managed a small smile, and Itachi almost passed out from shock. When was the last time Kakashi had smiled, let alone sat quietly without crying?! Certainly not for weeks now! Itachi gave him a smile in return and stood up. Kakashi leapt up as a sign of respect, and stood at the doorway to the kitchen, waiting for Itachi. Sasori stood up as well, and both headed into the living room. Itachi settled on the couch; Sasori sat down again in an armchair slightly off to the side of the couch. Kakashi hesitantly sat down at Itachi's feet and, meeting no resistance, leaned against the Uchiha's legs.

"Kakashi, come sit up here," Itachi said, motioning to the couch next to him. "Plenty of room."

Kakashi shook his head. "N-No, it-it's not polite…the slave, reclining with his master? I-It's not-"

"Get up here," Itachi said sharply. "You are no lower than either of us, and that's something that has been contradicted much around here. Kakashi, you're special, alright? You're not just another prisoner-you're mine. And that's not to be disputed. Come. Here."

Kakashi's head lowered. He couldn't disobey a direct order-he knew the consequences under Kisame, and even Pein, and never wanted to experience that again. He slid up onto the couch with a whimper, fully expecting a blow for even causing Itachi to _give_ him the order to begin with.

Instead, he received a warm embrace and a kiss.

Kakashi took a shaky breath, shocked that he would be treated like a person; no, a lover! A person who was truly loved and cared about…Kakashi could hardly remember what it was like, but he was certain he wanted to make it last.

"Kakashi, I would never hurt you," Itachi whispered, pulling the jounin into his lap and leaning on the arm of couch, tucking Kakashi securely underneath his arms. Kakashi settled deep in Itachi's embrace, but a tear still slipped free.

"Kakashi," Itachi murmured, stroking his love's face and picking up the tear. "Baby, what's wrong?"

Kakashi shook his head and buried his face in Itachi's neck, a soft sob escaping his throat. "I-I'm sorry," he stammered. "B-But…I-I'm so happy…you care…"

"I didn't hit you."

Kakashi hesitated, then nodded. Itachi sighed and sat up, and Kakashi shrank back with a gasp, two more tears slipping free of his eyes. "I-Itachi-sama?"

"Hush, love," Itachi whispered, taking Kakashi into his embrace again. Kakashi's shaking suddenly ceased, and he exhaled all his held breath. "I would never, ever, hurt you…and you should know that. I wouldn't even touch you if you didn't want me to. If you wanted, I would leave you alone for as long as you wanted, and I would let you come to me. I can respect your rights as a person, Kakashi; unfortunately, Kisame and Pein can't seem to return the favor."

Kakashi shook his head, whimpering and clinging to Itachi like a burr. "I-I'm so scared of him…" he murmured, his grip tightening. "H-He always hits me…why? D-Did I do s-something wrong? I-I always w-wonder…i-if I angered h-him…b-but when I-I ask h-him what I did, h-he just yells at me…a-and calls me stupid…and hits me…"

"Kakashi, calm down," Itachi said, recognizing the threat of tears. "Kisame can't get you, alright? Not for the rest of tonight, and tomorrow. Let's just forget about everything else, and take your time recovering a little, alright? Because I'm taking you back to Konoha when you're ready."

Kakashi gasped, head shooting up to stare at Itachi. "Y-You would do that…? For me…? But why? What did I ever do to deserve your kindness?"

"Kakashi, you don't deserve to be treated this way, so think of it as my apology to you for four weeks of misery."

Kakashi shrugged and slid back into Itachi's arms. "W-Well, when you put it like that…"

Itachi nodded. "Love, I would never hurt you, just understand that. So, as long as you're with me, you can do whatever you want. Just don't go crazy and kill everything within a thirty mile radius, okay?" he said with a grin. Kakashi shrugged.

"I-I'll just do what you tell me to," he said slowly. "I-I don't want to mess anything up, or make you angry, or-"

"Kakashi, nothing you do could ever make me angry," Itachi said with a sigh. "Except maybe some sort of explosion, or maybe killing people…but I think the worst you could ever manage is saying the wrong thing, so relax." Itachi gave Kakashi another reassuring smile. "And even if you do something really bad, it would have to be really bad for me to even think about hitting you, so don't worry about it."

Kakashi didn't seem convinced. "B-But Kisame-sama…he said that if I even did one little thing wrong, he would hurt me s-so bad, I-I wouldn't be able to walk for a week…"

Itachi sighed again and gave Kakashi a small kiss. "Love, that's Kisame, and he's just stupid, alright? You just have to trust me."

Kakashi's head fell a bit more. "B-But…I-I'm supposed to be hit," he murmured. "I-I'm just a slave…and a stupid one, too…I don't think it would be right to treat me this nicely."

Itachi sighed for the third time. "Kakashi, if you want that to be true, go back to Kisame. But if you want to get what you deserve, which is love, three square meals a day, and no beatings, stay here."

"Don't leave me!" Kakashi cried, dropping to his knees on the floor. "Please, don't make me go back to him! Don't-!"

Itachi placed a hand over Kakashi's mouth, hushing the trembling jounin at his feet. "Kakashi, hush, I didn't mean I was going to turn you away," he said slowly, removing his hand and kissing his love. "I merely commented that it might be better for you to stay here if you really want to get what you deserve. You're not a slave, and you're certainly not stupid, nor should you be treated like it."

Kakashi's head went down, and his hands fell to his thighs. "I'm sorry," he whispered, and the tears threatened to come again. Itachi wordlessly reached down and picked Kakashi up.

"You're staying with me," he reassured him. "And nothing you say or do can change that, alright?"

Kakashi nodded and fell against Itachi's shoulder, silent tears falling down his face. Itachi held him and comforted him, talking to Sasori in between.

"What are you going to do about Kisame?" he asked. "And Pein, for that matter."

Sasori shook his head. "Not sure…there's not much we _can_ do, really. Anyway, we could just sneak him out now…"

Itachi shrugged. "I like it. He needs to rest, though…"

Sasori sighed. "Well, now is the perfect opportunity. Kisame sent Kakashi away, so he probably won't come for him until tomorrow morning. Pein is probably aware, so he won't be a problem, and Deidara has guard duty, so I'm confident he won't betray us. Kakuza might have posed a problem, because of his money issues, and Hidan might cause a revolution to end swearing forever…Zetsu's never around for anything, so he may get the wrong idea, and Tobi's just a fool."

Itachi sighed. "You're right," he finally said. "I have to take him now, otherwise we'll never get him out of here. Cautious, but not too cautious, as that might ruin everything. So, give me a cloak, and I'll get him out of here. I have my weapons still on me; I'll be fine."

"I'll come with you," Sasori said. "Just for the support. I have most of my stuff still on me. I can leave Hiruko. Come on; the window. Lucky for you, you're right next to the entrance, so all you have to do is jump out the window, wave to Deidara, and continue on your merry way. Now let's go."

"I think Kakashi's asleep," Itachi said, upon taking a closer look at his lover. This comment received no return comment, so Sasori shrugged.

"Doesn't matter. Let's go!"

Itachi handed Kakashi to Sasori for a moment, threw on his cloak, and took the jounin back. He also grabbed Sasori's cloak, as the puppet master wouldn't need it for warmth, and wrapped it around Kakashi's shoulders. "Come on," he said, opening the window and picking up Kakashi again, looping his arms around the jounin's shoulder and legs. He sprang out the window, Sasori close behind. Sasori gestured at Deidara, and the blonde waved them through with a shake of the head. Sasori nodded his thanks, and he and Itachi ran out the door of Akatsuki. Itachi flew through the woods, making sure he never looked back.

OOOOOOOOO

Itachi burst into Konoha at breakneck speed.

"Where's Tsunade?" he hissed to Sasori, pausing in a tree to catch his breath. The two had been running for days now, hardly taking a few hours to rest. It was night again now, and the two were going to deliver Kakashi, rest just outside of Konoha, possibly in it if Tsunade would allow, and then head back to Akatsuki. Sasori glanced around, searching for her within visual distance. He finally shook his head.

"I didn't expect her to be out at this time of night; I was looking for her in any windows I could see through. Even the silhouettes of people through blinds or shades: I might have even been able to tell then. Her mansion is right there, and truthfully, I don't see any lights on-wait! There's one!"

Sasori crept closer to the building, staring through the window. He sighed. "Had to be the bathroom," he muttered, turning away. "Well, I'll wait until she's done, and we'll go in."

Itachi nodded and slipped closer, holding Kakashi tighter. The jounin stirred, but didn't wake. He was hardly awake for more than a few hours each day; he needed the rest, really. Itachi sighed and glanced up, just in time to see the silhouette of Tsunade moving towards the door. He leapt up to the window without thinking and tapped lightly on the glass.

Tsunade spun around, raced to the window, and opened it.

"Relax, Tsunade," Itachi said swiftly. "Let me up for a second; I have something for you." Tsunade warily stepped back, and Itachi slipped through the window, kissing Kakashi one last time right in front of her. "Here," he said softly, and thrust Kakashi into her arms. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to help him much this time."

And he was gone again.

Tsunade shook her head sadly, sinking to her knees on the floor of the bathroom and cradling Kakashi in her arms, giving him a sweet kiss on his soft, full lips. "Baby…" she whispered, "I missed you…"

Kakashi slowly opened his eyes and gazed at her from behind glossy tears. "I missed you too."

Tsunade sighed and held him closer, unwilling to let him go.

**A/N: How do you feel about light TsunaKaka…?**


	7. Chapter 7

Kakashi fell asleep in Tsunade's arms.

Tsunade thought it was the sweetest thing ever: Kakashi was holding onto her for dear life, and it seemed like he was afraid to let her go for any reason. With a slight whimper, Kakashi had shifted around a bit, finally getting himself comfortable and falling asleep on Tsunade. The blonde Hokage carefully carried Kakashi into her own room, settling him in her bed and placing a small kiss on his forehead. She exited the room after pulling the sheets up over him, and then softly closed the door behind herself. She could sleep on the couch for one night.

OOOOOOOOOO

When Kakashi woke up, he wasn't alone.

He couldn't help but gasp with surprise as he realized where he was, and the teenage girl sitting next to him turned her head slightly to acknowledge him. "Ah, Kakashi-san! You're up!"

Kakashi slowly sat up, wincing at the pain from his many wounds. "Shizune," he murmured, recognizing the short, black hair and dark eyes. "Wh-What happened…?"

"Itachi handed you over to Tsunade-sama," Shizune replied with a small smile. "She kept you here for the night, because she was too afraid to move you much. Trauma, and all. She thought it would be better if you were in a safe, nurturing environment for a while. Something a bit more personal, you know?"

Kakashi nodded. "Yeah…to an extent, I guess…what happened to Itachi-sama?"

"He left the second Tsunade-sama took you," Shizune said. "He just said he was sorry he couldn't do more for you, and that he just didn't want to see you hurt again. He gave you back, Kakashi-a second time!"

Kakashi hardly heard what she said after 'he left the second Tsunade-sama took you.' All that was left now was the emptiness of being alone…without Itachi…and being without his lover-

"Kakashi-san?"

"Leave me alone."

Shizune looked as if she had been slapped at Kakashi's words. "B-But…Kakashi-san, I really should see to your wounds-"

"You can't do anything about the worst of the wounds," Kakashi said bitterly. "Unless you can heal a broken heart."

Shizune fell silent at this. It was true, only time could heal a broken heart-time, and love would heal it completely, but time alone would only scar. She slowly stood up, leaving behind a tray of food and some tea.

"I'll be back in a little while to check on you," she said softly. "But in the meantime, would you let Tsunade-sama-?"

_"Just leave me alone!"_

Shizune left without another word.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Kakashi…Kakashi, come on, talk to me!"

"Go away!"

Tsunade had tried and failed twice now to touch Kakashi, each try only resulting in tears and sobs. Kakashi seemed completely broken at this point, devastated that Itachi had left him without so much as a word. As it was, the tears were still falling, but not as hard. Tsunade reached out slowly, trying one more time to offer Kakashi a bit of comfort.

It was as she thought. Kakashi whimpered and slid away from her hand, and his sobs redoubled. Tsunade sighed and finally just stood up and left.

It wasn't worth it if Kakashi was going to deny himself the comfort he craved so badly.

OOOOOOOOO

Kakashi cried until the night fell.

His tears faded into small sobs, until finally he cried himself to sleep. Tsunade knew he hadn't touched the food she had set out for him, nor the tea she had left. She was beginning to get worried about Kakashi: he had hardly had something to drink for so long, and no food at all, and yet he wouldn't eat. It just wasn't fair to Kakashi at all! But there was nothing Tsunade could do at the moment. She sighed and moved past her own room, where Kakashi still was, and settled on the couch again. Kakashi would just have to stay until he was eating again…but so far, he was sleeping alright, and so Tsunade decided to leave him for the night. She could push him to eat a little more tomorrow.

Kakashi woke up in the middle of the night to a soft whisper.

He looked around, but could see nothing that would indicate someone in the room. He sat up, a bit more frightened now, and hesitantly called out, "Is someone there?"

The response was a light, soft kiss.

Kakashi's late-night visitor had suddenly covered his eyes and kissed him, much to Kakashi's dismay. He wrenched against the person's hold, and found a gentle hand slipping away from his face, revealing red Sharingan, sharp lines underneath deadly eyes-

"Itachi-sama…"

Kakashi wasted no time. Within the second, he was in Itachi's arms, holding onto him as if there was no tomorrow. Itachi wrapped his arms around Kakashi in a tender embrace, a rare occurrence even around Kakashi.

"Missed you," Itachi murmured. Kakashi nodded wordlessly, pressing his face to Itachi's shoulder, as if afraid he would leave if he let go, even for a second.

"Missed you, too," he whispered. "But…you left…without even saying goodbye…"

"Love, I had to," Itachi said softly, kissing down on Kakashi's soft mouth. "I knew someone was following Sasori and I, and I didn't want them to find you. I managed to lead them off in a few circles, but I can't stay long. I just wanted to say goodbye, and to tell you that I loved you."

Kakashi nodded again. The world was right with him at the moment-nothing could possibly bring this moment down, nothing in the world! Well, except maybe Pein or Kisame coming in, but what were the odds?

"Love, I don't ever want you to go through that kind of torture again," Itachi said slowly, pulling Kakashi closer to himself. "I just hope you can forgive me for not moving against Kisame and Pein earlier."

"There's nothing to forgive," Kakashi murmured, "You did everything you could…and more. You didn't have to do any of this for me, but you did…and for that, all I can do is thank you."

Itachi smiled. "Ever the sweetest flower," he said, kissing Kakashi again. "I have to go now, but just remember that I will come whenever I can, and that I'll never forget you. You'll always be loved with me." Itachi eased Kakashi off him, then stood up and turned away. "Goodbye my love. I'll see you again."

"No you won't."

Itachi spun around, and found himself staring into the tiny eyes of Kisame.

Itachi's own eyes narrowed, and he glowered at Kisame. "You," he snarled. "What are you doing here?"

"Came for the little slave behind you," Kisame said, motioning to Kakashi. "Cute little fuck-I wanted him back."

"Not happening," Itachi growled, stepping in front of Kakashi protectively. "Touch him, Kisame, and I swear upon my own grave-"

"You'll what?" Kisame drawled. "Kill me?" His hand traveled back to rest on Samehada's hilt, and the blade tipped forward. "You wouldn't even if you could!"

"Don't push me," Itachi warned. Kisame laughed.

"I'll push you right over, prissy little shrimp of a pureblood!"

Itachi's blood boiled. "I can take an insult, but that was a little much!" he spat, hands curling into fists at his sides. Kisame laughed again, refusing to take Itachi seriously.

"Itachi, don't worry your pretty little head over it. It'll quick and painless! And don't worry about Kakashi, either-I'll take good care of him."

Itachi moved a hidden kunai down his sleeve into his palm. He didn't let one that he had anything, though-he wanted to surprise Kisame. Maybe he could get that kunai deep enough to seriously wound him…but Kisame was a big, very muscular person, and a simple kunai might not punch a very big hole…

Kisame stepped forward a bit. "No objections? Good. I'll just take him back now-"

As he leaned over to grab Kakashi, Kisame was stopped cold by a hand on his chest.

Blood poured down Itachi's bared forearm, and dripped onto Kakashi's pale skin. Only a startled gasp could be heard for a moment: then, Kisame fell forward, almost on top of Kakashi, the hilt of a kunai protruding from his punctured chest.

"Itachi…" he gasped. "Y-Your…own…partner…"

"I have nothing to do with you anymore," Itachi said coldly. "Not after what you did to him." Itachi bent over, picking up Kakashi with his clean arm, and wiping the majority of the blood off his other on Kisame's cloak. "Kisame, I thought I made it clear to you," Itachi continued, almost sounding rueful, "I wouldn't tolerate Kakashi's abuse any longer. I'm sorry it had to end like this-but that's life, right?"

Itachi stopped when he realized Kisame was dead.

Kakashi shivered and clung to Itachi, whimpering in fear. "Kakashi, love, he's dead," Itachi said softly, pulling Kakashi back to him. He held Kakashi against his shoulder for a moment, then picked him up and carried him away from the scene.

"Come on; we need to find Tsunade."

OOOOOOOOO

Tsunade heard noise from upstairs and woke up.

There was a loud thud, and then everything went silent. Then, a voice said something to another, and Tsunade heard her name. Fearing the worst, the kunoichi's hand slid underneath her pillow to curl her fingers around a kunai. An assassination? Wait-that noise came from her room! Kakashi!

Tsunade sprang to her feet just as a figure entered the room.

"Relax, Tsunade," Itachi said quickly, setting Kakashi down on the opposite end of the couch. "He's fine, and no one's here to hurt you. Anyone who was is now dead."

"What are you talking about?" Tsunade gasped. "Where is Shizune?"

"I don't know," Itachi said quickly. "This blood is Kisame's," he explained, holding up his bloodied arm. "He came to try to retake Kakashi, and he wouldn't back off, so I killed him."

Tsunade's eyes widened, but she crouched down in front of Kakashi, quickly checking him over for injury. "Aw, baby, are you okay? What happened?"

"What Itachi-sama said," Kakashi murmured, looking down. "N-Nothing happened to Shizune, at least…not by Itachi-sama's hand. He was with me the whole time."

Tsunade sighed and stood up, dropping the kunai to the couch. "Itachi, what were you doing here to begin with?"

"I came to say goodbye," he said. "I knew Kakashi would be miserable if he thought I had abandoned him, so I came back to make sure he got to say goodbye to me and to know I loved him."

Tsunade glanced at Kakashi. The jounin nodded, and she sighed and sat down next to him. Tsunade slid an arm across Kakashi's shoulders, but Kakashi didn't seem to react to the gesture.

"Come here, baby," Tsunade tried, but Kakashi scooted away from her. Itachi understood Kakashi's movements, and sat down on the jounin's other side. He gently pulled Kakashi into his lap and placed a small kiss on his forehead, brushing aside silver hair.

"He just wants attention," Itachi said. "Obviously he didn't get enough of it in Akatsuki, so he really wants someone to take care of him until he can get back on his feet. It's gonna be a lot harder this time, though: Kisame was really rough, and it was just a bad situation. Please, promise me you'll do whatever it takes to make sure he isn't hurt anymore?"

Tsunade nodded. "Of course," she said. "I couldn't live with myself if I was the cause for his misery. Poor thing…" Tsunade reached over and ran one hand up and down Kakashi's back, hoping he would be comforted by the gesture. "He's so sweet…how could it even cross one's mind to hurt him in the least?"

Itachi shrugged. "I don't know," he said slowly. "It was for the best, then."

Tsunade looked up. "What?"

"That I killed Kisame," Itachi said. "It's for the best, right?"

Tsunade sighed. "I guess so," she finally said. "Where's the body?"

"On your bed."

"Agh!"

There was a sudden scream from above, and pounding footsteps echoed down the stairs. _"Tsunade-sama!!!"_

Tsunade gave a small smile. "Well, at least I know Shizune's okay…"

**A/N: Geez, holidays are rough! So much for updates getting better…well, here ****ya**** go!! Review, please!!**


	8. Chapter 8

_Medical Report-5/16/08_

_Kakashi is progressing rapidly. His disposition remains sweet and docile, except for when he is touched around the head or hips. He becomes skittish and frightened when anyone moves towards him then, but calms down again when someone he trusts is close by to reassure him he is safe. The long-term effects of the trauma Kakashi suffered will most likely be mild, such as sensitivity to being touched around the hips, or sudden movements aimed at his head. Such may provoke a violent reaction-_

Tsunade glanced up from her small book at a soft knock on her door. "Come in," she called, folding the book closed, but keeping the pen inside. Kakashi walked through, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Tsunade-sama, I'm sorry for the trouble-"

"Not at all," Tsunade said, and waved off Kakashi's concern. "What is it?"

"I was wondering when I could resume my responsibilities here as a jounin," he said slowly. "I know I'm nowhere near fully recovered, but…"

Tsunade sighed. "We'll see how things go," she said. "It could be anywhere from a week to months. We just need to see how things work it, alright?"

Kakashi nodded. "I understand. Thank you." As he turned to leave, Tsunade stopped him.

"Kakashi, are you ready to talk about this? Obviously it was worse than last time…"

Kakashi froze, his hand hovering over the doorknob, and it slowly lowered to drop back to his side. "I-I'm not sure…" he murmured, turning back around. "I can't really tell you…what really went on-"

"Then don't," Tsunade said. "Sit down, relax, and tell me what to want to."

Kakashi shook his head. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "But I-I just don't think I can do that right now…I'm sorry-"

"No, no, it's my fault for asking." Tsunade waved her hand at Kakashi, dismissing him. "Go on," she said. "You can leave if you want."

"Actually…" Kakashi faltered. "There is one thing…I've been meaning to tell you…"

"What?" Tsunade asked, standing up and walking around to stand next to Kakashi. "Talk to me, baby-"

"Don't call me that. You don't understand…!" Kakashi shook his head and slowly sank into a chair across from Tsunade's desk. The Hokage came to stand next to him again, one hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "It's just not that easy…to just forget it all, to just throw it all away like it never happened…I just can't do that!"

"I'm not asking you to," Tsunade said softly, gently running her hand along Kakashi's shoulder. "I'm just asking you to be strong and to take things one step at a time. That's all. And if that's too much, you have friends here you can rely on. You don't have to go it alone."

Kakashi sighed. "I've been…struggling with myself every day…just to get up, and keep going, if only for the sake of Itachi-sama…he would want it this way. He wanted me to be happy, and that's why he let me come back. He didn't want me to have to suffer anymore…and yet, I still am…ironic, no?"

"Slightly," Tsunade said. "I think he wants what's best for you, and that's why he brought you back. I think…that in his own twisted way…Itachi really does love you. And what more could anyone ever ask for?"

Kakashi gave a soft smile and replied, "Nothing, really. I have someone who loves me…and even if he's miles away, it's still love. Truthful love, too, and meaningful love…not just sex. And…I think it's nice…to have someone who doesn't just 'love' me because I'm pretty…they love me…because of who I am. And I don't know…what I would do without that…"

Tsunade allowed the smallest of smiles to slip through her determined mask of calm. Kakashi was luck to have someone who cared about him so much-she had had someone, but that was no longer true. Death had stolen those she loved from her too early, and the wound still stung with the promise of reopen. Even after all this time, wounds simply would not heal.

And yet here was Kakashi, recovering well, because of hope.

Hope that his lover was out there somewhere, and still cared about him like a true lover would, and loved him until the ends of time.

Tsunade's smile slowly grew. "By the way, if you ever see Itachi soon, just ask him to stick around until you see me next, okay? I have a quick question for him…"

Kakashi nodded. "Alright. Just promise me you won't attack him?"

"Not if he's with you." A frown crossed Tsunade's smile, though. "But if he comes for any purpose other than to see you, and I know of this and know where he is every hour of the day, I will re-instate the order to kill him on sight. Is that clear? You try to stick to the edges of the village so you don't call attention to yourself, alright? Use the old Uchiha complex or something. I'll give you the keys as long as I get them back after every use. Talk to Itachi about it and see what happens, okay?"

Kakashi nodded. "Of course," he said quickly. He didn't want to lose Itachi, not now! Tsunade gave a small, quick nod, and walked back to her desk. "So, what did you want to tell me?"

"Itachi-sama left a note saying that he would be here on Friday night," Kakashi said. "I-I just thought you would want to know…"

"Yes, thank you, Kakashi," Tsunade said. "Now, you're free to do whatever you wish for-"

_"KAKASHI-SENSEI!!!!!"_

A shock of blonde was all he saw before Kakashi was barreled over and knocked to the ground. Kakashi yelped with surprise and shoved Naruto off, taking a deep breath and slowly getting to his feet.

"Naruto, take it easy," he gasped. "I'm not quite up to that yet…"

"Oh…sorry…" Naruto took a sudden interest in his feet, and Kakashi swallowed and straightened. "Naruto, this is going to be hard for me, alright? Just try to keep it to a dull roar?"

Naruto nodded silently and looked up again, looking a bit sheepish. "Well, if it's any consolation, Sakura-chan and Sasuke-kun are excited, too."

"It'll be a cold day in hell when Sasuke's truly excited," Tsunade said dryly. "But I see your point." The door opened and Sakura and Sasuke walked in. Sakura looked overjoyed, and Sasuke looked mildly happy.

"Welcome back," he said, giving Kakashi a slow, awkward hug. Sakura charged right in after Sasuke, throwing her arms around Kakashi and burying her face in his shirt.

"Missed you," she murmured, her grip tightening for a moment before she stepped back and smiled at Kakashi. Kakashi forced himself to return the gesture, hoping the creases in his mask would make them think it was a real smile.

"So, what's going on with my brother?" Sasuke asked conversationally. "If he's the one that did this to you-oh, doubtless it was, who else would be that unscrupulous?"

"Kisame," Kakashi murmured. He took a deep breath and set his hands on Sasuke's shoulders. "Sasuke, I-I want you to listen to me…I have something to tell you…"

Sasuke's dark eyes looked suspicious for a moment, then locked onto Kakashi's one and asked, "What?"

Kakashi shuddered. "Sasuke, the one who hurt me so badly wasn't Itachi…it was Kisame, his partner, and the leader of the Akatsuki, Pein. Your brother…he was actually the one who kept me safe and brought me back…Sasuke, we…I…we're in love, Sasuke, and I don't know how else to tell you this…"

Sasuke looked like he had been slapped at first. Then, his look slowly changed to anger, then hatred, and finally, pure, pure, rage. "What has he done to you?" he whispered, taking a small step back. "Why is he doing this to you? He can't just leave you alone, now he has to force you to love him-?"

"Sasuke, no, that's not how it went!" Kakashi was almost pleading with Sasuke to understand. "Sasuke, we love each other because we care about each other! The only ones who forced me to love them were Kisame and Pein! And Itachi prevented them from hurting me further once he realized I was being abused-! Sasuke, don't hate me for this, please, just…just don't hate me! I couldn't help any of this…I had no control…we just…we love each other…just don't hate me…"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and he whipped around to stare at Tsunade. "Is this true?" His words were hard and bitter, and it hurt Kakashi just to hear them. Tsunade nodded sadly, and Sasuke turned his gaze back to Kakashi. The jounin took a step back, eyes downcast and sad, and settled for a small sigh of pain and betrayal.

"You hate me now…don't you…?"

"I don't hate you," Sasuke bit back. Kakashi seemed stung at the harsh words and stepped back again. "I only hate the ones who did this to you. How could he?"

"Sasuke, please-!"

"Shut up. It's not important anymore."

Now Kakashi looked like he had _really_ been slapped. He made no response to Sasuke's snap except a small, whispered, "I'm so sorry," and another step back. Sasuke didn't seem to hear him, and stormed out of the room looking like a thundercloud. Tsunade glanced worriedly at Kakashi: could he take something like that so soon after his traumatic incident?

"Kakashi, are you alright?"

Kakashi spun around, gasping. He knew that voice-!

"Itachi!"

Tsunade glared at the Uchiha. "What are you doing here?"

Itachi shrugged. "Got away for a little while and just wanted to say hi." He looped one arm around Kakashi's shoulders, pulling him up against his body and holding him in a comforting embrace. "Make sure he's okay…" Kakashi sighed and let his head fall to Itachi's shoulder. His hair had never really returned to its former spiky state-it still remained, long and silky around his face and brushing his slender shoulders. "What happened?" he murmured, running one hand over Kakashi's hair. "He doesn't exactly seem hyper and happy…"

Tsunade sighed. "Sasuke wasn't exactly excited about…you know, the two of you…"

"He isn't comfortable with us seeing each other."

Tsunade nodded. "His reaction was…not a good one, and Kakashi, I think, was really hurt by Sasuke's denial and lack of acceptance."

"Ah…" Itachi otherwise gave no reaction to Tsunade's statement, instead returning his attention to Kakashi. "You okay?"

Kakashi gave a small shrug. "I guess," he said slowly. "I'll live…"

Itachi smiled. "We'll just see what happens. Let me know if you need me, alright?"

Another shrug. "Sure…"

Itachi sighed. "Come on, cheer up. It's not all bad!"

Kakashi gave Itachi a death glare he hardly knew he was capable of giving in his state of mind right now.

"Okay, yeah, it's pretty bad," Itachi admitted. "Look, I'm being happy-go-lucky for your sake, so at least try? For me?"

Kakashi's shrug was a sure sign he didn't feel like deciding. Itachi wanted to press the matter, but decided not to. "How's he been?" he asked Tsunade. The blonde sighed.

"Getting there," she said. "He's getting back to normal pretty quickly, but the underlying trauma will never go away completely. He might be able to hide it, but…"

Itachi seemed disappointed. "I'm sorry, love," he whispered, tightening his grip on Kakashi. Kakashi remained silent for a while, and then gave a shuddering sigh, and his arms found their way around Itachi's waist.

Sakura and Naruto were shocked, to say the least. They had never imagined that their sensei would fall for Itachi, of all people. And they were expecting that he would simply be abused at Itachi's hands…never had they expected that Itachi would be the only one kind enough to spare Kakashi torture beyond belief.

Naruto was the first to speak.

"Um…excuse me…Itachi…?"

Itachi's pinwheel eyes fixed uncomfortably on Naruto's baby-blue ones. "Yes?" he hissed. Kakashi stepped closer to Itachi, moving his hands up to rest on Itachi' shoulders.

"Um…why do you…you know…why did you and Kakashi-sensei…?"

"Fall in love?"

Naruto nodded, and Itachi sighed. "We just did," he said slowly. "Kakashi is just beautiful…and I can't stand seeing him hurt so badly. We just kind of ended up falling for each other when we realized how much we cared about one another."

Sakura glanced at Kakashi. "And…he's totally happy with you…? Y-You don't hurt him or anything?"

Itachi glanced down at Kakashi. "He's perfectly comfortable around me, he's not showing any signs of anxiety, and he's not flipping out. What could possibly make you think I abuse him?"

Sakura blushed and looked down. "Not abuse, just…I just wanted to make sure you were treating him right…"

Itachi snorted with laughter. "Hurt him, my ass. As if!"

"And he's happy with you?"

Itachi glanced up, seeing the door wide open and Sasuke standing in it. His eyes narrowed, but he nodded and tried to still keep his body relaxed and calm. "Quite," he said frostily, "And just for the record, the day I even think about hitting him for any reason at all is going to be the day you give up on revenge against me."

Sasuke almost smiled. "Well, then…you're probably going to be having some mean thoughts, because if he's happy with you…I'll leave you alone. But, when he's not with you-!"

"Yeah, yeah, if you can." Itachi smiled and waved Sasuke off. "Shoo, shoo. Having a moment."

Sasuke glared at his brother, but turned on his heel and stalked out of Tsunade's office. He slammed the door behind himself, and everyone could clearly hear him stomping down the hallway. Itachi's sigh was the only sound to break the silence, and Tsunade glanced worriedly at her door.

"Kakashi, if you and Itachi want to be alone, you can go…"

Itachi nodded. "Of course. Thank you." He left the room, Kakashi trailing behind him, and Tsunade sank down at her desk with a frustrated exhale.

"Long…long…day…"

**A/N: I like ponies.**


	9. Chapter 9

Once they were out in the hallway, Itachi turned Kakashi around, stripped off his mask, and gave him a long, sweet kiss.

Kakashi suddenly tensed at the swift movement, but settled into Itachi's embrace soon enough. He gave a small gasp as Itachi's hands trailed lower on his body, drifting into the small of his back, and Itachi took that as his cue to stay where he was. He held Kakashi close to his body, leaning deeply into the kiss. One of Itachi's hands stayed in Kakashi's lower back, the other travelling up to rest behind the jounin's head. Both of them stole small gasps of breath between kisses; hands struggled to go beyond their limits; stolen nips were returned with pleasure. Itachi's lips moved so smoothly over Kakashi's, one might think it was liquid flowing over liquid. Kakashi let out a small moan of pleasure as harsh teeth formed a gentle love-bite on Kakashi's neck, hidden by the mask. The smallest of whimpers escaped his throat as Itachi suckled at the bite, drawing the blood forth with a sharp sting.

"Itachi-sama-"

Itachi came back up and claimed those full lips again, silencing Kakashi's plea with a more forceful kiss. He paid attention to Kakashi's outward bodily signs, though, in case he got too far into himself. The last thing he wanted was Kakashi to feel like he was being used again.

Kakashi slowly pulled back, and Itachi took the hint. He just stood there for a minute, letting the moment pass and holding Kakashi in his arms. Kakashi kept himself securely in the circle of Itachi's arms, just content to be with him at the time. Itachi was secretly glad Kakashi was so quiet-it just made this so much more enjoyable. Words would have spoiled the moment. One last, chaste kiss and Kakashi's mask crept back up his face, slowly hiding his true face from the cold, uncaring world. Itachi kept one arm around Kakashi's shoulders as they walked down the hallway, but stopped him as they were about to walk into the streets.

"I'll meet you at your apartment."

Kakashi nodded, and Itachi vanished in a flash.

OOOOOOOOO

Kakashi walked through the streets, absent-mindedly moving through the crowds of people bustling around, tending to their daily lives. He was envious of them, really-they had no idea what his life was like, and what he wouldn't give to be normal-like them. He heard his name whispered several times-people pointed fingers and whispered behind their hands, but Kakashi knew what they were saying. It was either ridicule or astounding praise.

"Well, if he can get caught like that, and then beaten up so badly, he's probably lost his touch, if not his sanity."

"You have to give him credit-for all he went through, and really, these are the highest ranking shinobi in the world! And twice he's done it now! And come back alive to serve us again-!"

"The stubborn bastard who refuses to die. Coward, just like his father."

In a flash, Kakashi had sought out the man who had made the snide comment and had him by the throat against a wall. "Say that again," he whispered threateningly, gripping the man's neck tighter. "I dare you." He threw the man across the street into a wall-

And just kept on walking.

OOOOOOOOO

Kakashi opened his apartment door with a sigh, closing and locking it behind him. He could tell Itachi was already in the apartment: his chakra was evident to Kakashi's extra sense. "Itachi-sama?" he called tentatively, taking a few steps into the apartment. Itachi stood up from the couch he had been sitting on, reading a magazine, and gave Kakashi a small smile.

"Rough time getting here?"

Kakashi nodded and accepted Itachi's hug, then stepped back again. "Do you want anything to drink?" he asked, "Or anything to eat?"

Itachi shook his head. "I'm okay," he said. "I stopped for ramen on the way. Take-out. Ichiraku's, was it? Yeah, that was it. Good stuff."

Kakashi smiled and nodded. "I go there all the time," he said. "And so does Naruto. Well, everyone really. It's well-known as the best ramen place for miles."

Itachi nodded. "Come here, sit down," he said, settling back where he had been on the couch before. Kakashi curled up against Itachi's side, under the Uchiha's protective arm, and simply content to exist for that one, perfect moment in time. Itachi seemed to feel it as well: nothing more than breath was shared between them, the deep rhythms of life keeping the time to the beating of strong hearts.

Itachi's was slightly faster.

It was only during these quiet moments that one could notice such a thing, but somehow, Kakashi noticed it immediately. Perhaps it was because it was so quiet; or maybe the way Kakashi's head was positioned according to where Itachi's heart was-

Either way, it was a beautiful moment.

OOOOOOOOO

Pein was pacing.

Ever since news of Kisame's death reached him, he had been searching for revenge on Konoha. It was Konoha's fault Kisame was dead, in his eyes-Konoha had brought about the entire situation, anyway. By being the enemy of the Akatsuki, it brought around such consequences…Pein was pushing himself just to keep Akatsuki alive, let alone thriving. He had no time for stupid, petty affairs such as this! And now, these kinds of situations had taken one of his skilled shinobi. "Couldn't have been Tobi," he muttered, the deprived, challenged "shinobi" springing to mind. Oh, he would love for Tobi to simply…disappear, but, being who he was, there was no neat and clean way to do it. It would be, doubtless, a messy job that would piss him off almost as much as Tobi alive pissed him off. There were certain things in life that were just obnoxious…Tobi definitely topped the list, coming in a close second to Konoha. No, something had to be done about that village, and he was going to see to it personally.

"Konan," he said slowly, "Take over for me for a couple days. There's some business I must see to…in another village…"

Konan sighed. "If it's in Konoha"-

"No, no," Pein said, lying straight through his teeth, "It's in Suna. I'll be gone for a few days, so just make sure everything gets done around here, ne?"

Konan sighed. "Yeah, sure," she said. "Keys?"

"On the counter."

"Scrolls?"

"On my desk."

"Records?"

"Same place as the scrolls: my desk."

Konan gave Pein a single nod. "Very well, then," she said. "Anything in particular that needs to get done?"

"If a mission comes up, give it to Hidan and Kakuza," Pein replied. "They've been rather antsy and cranky lately; I figure something to do should cure them of that rather quickly. And watch our for Itachi: he's been elsewhere for a few days now, just make sure he comes back and gives his mission report to you."

Konan nodded again and briefly glanced up from her book. "Where is he? What's the mission, I mean?"

"Delivering a scroll to Otoga," Pein said slowly. "I told him to take his time toying with Orochimaru, but he's Itachi. You never know what he'll take to heart." With a smirk, Pein grabbed his cloak and threw it on, snapping it down the front and grabbing his backpack. "Count on a week."

Konan nodded and grunted a reply, and Pein exited the room. Konan waited several minutes to make sure he was safely gone before grabbing a blank scroll and scribbling out a message to Itachi:

_Get out of Konoha now! Pein is __coming,__ and he knows you're there. Get Kakashi out, as well, or give him to someone you both trust. GET OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!_

Konan sealed the letter and used a paper jutsu to send the scroll directly to Itachi. She knew he would receive it long before Pein got there, but was it still enough time?

OOOOOOOOO

A scroll randomly appeared in front of Itachi.

Raising a single eyebrow, Itachi glanced at Kakashi. The jounin was staring at him with a puzzled look in one eye. "Yours or mine?" he asked, motioning to the scroll.

"I think it's mine," Itachi said slowly. He leaned over and picked up the scroll, turning it carefully in his hands. As he reached the end of the paper, where it was carefully stuck to the backside of the rest of the scroll, Itachi smiled. He recognized Konan's signature butterfly stuck to the seam, and realized it was from her. "Yeah, it's mine," he said, and gently lifted the butterfly from the edge. As his Sharingan eyes skimmed the paper, they grew wider and wider, until finally, Itachi stood up and sealed the scroll again, sliding it into the kunai pouch under his cloak.

"Love, Pein is coming," he said, leaning over and taking Kakashi's shoulders in his hands. "You can't stay here, all right? We need to get you someplace safe…somewhere where Pein can't get you…"

Kakashi thought and thought and thought, but came up with nothing. Itachi was trying to think, but he had forgotten many of the details of the village in the time he'd been away. He kept asking questions such as, "Can you remember anything that might be part of ANBU?" and "Is there an attack shelter of some sort that you might be able to get to?" Kakashi couldn't think of anything that would stand a chance against Pein.

Itachi finally groaned and sat back down on the bed. "Oh, I give up," he said. "We're just going to have to hide you and guard you. I can't take you into the forest, or anywhere outside for that matter, because the second it starts to rain, we know Pein is here. He can track any person within his rain. If we can sneak you building-to-building, where will the end be? Do we just keep moving? Or do we stop at some point? Do we just go straight to that point and risk the rain? Do we hide you someplace ingenious and leave you to avoid detection in numbers, or leave guards with you? Or maybe we could hide you in an obvious place with a load of guards…?" Itachi put his forehead in his palms, fingers twisting in his bangs, and he took several deep breaths. "I just can't think straight," he muttered. "Sorry…"

"It's not your fault," Kakashi said softly. "You did everything you can and…I think…" A blush was clearly visible on Kakashi's face, even in only the one slice of cheek that was visible, and Itachi's mind began to spin.

"You think-you're ready-"

"We need one last night together, and…I need to be able to say I'm no longer a virgin…even if I'm only secondary…"

Itachi smiled. "If I go too far, or if you change your mind, let me know and I'll stop."

"I want this. I really, truly want it this way. He can tear us apart from each other in the bed if he wants…but I want it that way. I can't hide any longer…I can't run anymore. It's just not right."

Itachi's smile grew, and the mask came down. "You can still stop me at any time," he murmured, claiming Kakashi's lips as his own. "But if you really want this-"

"Go right ahead."

OOOOOOOOOO

Kakashi lay underneath Itachi, still panting slightly from their night together. Strangely, no one had bothered them at all. Maybe Konan's letter was advanced to give them enough time to leave? They might never know, but Kakashi didn't even care anymore. That was that: he had officially lost his virginity of his own free will. Itachi leaned forward and kissed him, carefully wrapping Kakashi's lithe body in the sheets. Kakashi had gained most of the weight back from careful care and gentle prodding, but his body was still slightly skinnier than it used to be.

"Love…you okay?"

"Hm? O-Oh…yeah…"

Itachi smiled and ran a single finger down Kakashi's stomach. "My sweet…are you lying?"

"No…"

Kakashi shifted closer to Itachi, putting his head on the Uchiha's firm shoulder. "Just tired…"

Itachi nodded. "That's okay. Feel different, now that you actually wanted it?"

Kakashi nodded in return. "Strangely," he said. "But, it was a good different…"

Itachi gave Kakashi one last kiss. "I'm glad," he said. "Well, if you're tired, it's probably best you get some sleep." Itachi gently tapped Kakashi's slightly-curving hips. "Go to sleep; I'll stay here the night."

Kakashi blushed at the affection and snuggled closer to Itachi. "Thank you," he whispered. His eyes were already closing, in truth, and he was too tired to even get up and go to the bathroom if he needed to. He shifted his position one more time, just enough to encourage Itachi to put his arm around him, and then all was a peaceful, quiet black.

**A/N: Smut and fluff…yummy.**


	10. Chapter 10

Itachi awoke to screaming.

_"You slept with him! Don't you have better things to do than be sleeping with slaves?! I can NOT believe you would have the nerve-!"_

Itachi sighed as Pein continued his rant. "So pleasant to wake up to," he muttered. He sat up, glancing around for Kakashi. Doubtless the jounin would be frightened; he would want Itachi with him.

Itachi's heart stopped. Kakashi was nowhere to be seen.

"Don't worry about the bitch, I took care of him before I even woke you," Pein snarled. "He's alive, but not liking it. He's not anywhere you'll find him, so don't count on it-"

Within seconds, Itachi was up and holding Pein by the throat.

"Where is he?" he whispered, voice deadly calm. "Don't make me do it-"

"Itachi, you jump to conclusions," Pein said lightly, seeming to wave Itachi off. "You have no idea what you're dealing with here." Pein seemed to have no trouble breathing with Itachi's fingers in his neck, so Itachi tightened his grip. Still, Pein seemed unaffected. "Just give up," he snarled, glaring at Itachi. "There's no way you can win. Kakashi is mine-and nothing you do will stop me-!"

A sharp snap resounded through the air.

Itachi dropped Pein's lifeless body to the ground. "You are sorely mistaken," he whispered, kicking the body aside. "I'll do anything to be with him, and nothing will stop me from protecting him!" Itachi angrily stormed out the door of the room-

And almost ran over Kakashi.

Kakashi gasped and stepped back, then realized it was Itachi and gave a sigh of relief. "Itachi-sama," he murmured, inclining his head respectfully. Itachi said nothing-just threw his arms around Kakashi and pulled him close, ignoring the fact that they were both only in boxers. He slowly ran his hands up and down Kakashi's arms, holding him close and kissing him all over his face and down his neck. "Love, he's gone," Itachi finally whispered. "Pein's first body has been rendered useless. He'll flee to another, but for now we're safe…" Kakashi gave a huge sigh of relief, falling into Itachi's embrace and putting his arms up around Itachi's neck. "Calm down, love," Itachi murmured. "We don't have to worry about him for a while now…"

Kakashi could never have been happier. He was together with Itachi forever, and no one could change that. Kisame couldn't stop them ever again, and Pein couldn't for a time. Itachi was here, and nothing could pull them apart. Kakashi felt so content to just stand there, breathing in Itachi's sweet scent and holding him. Itachi's own grasp on Kakashi's body was as gentle as it ever had been, and his kisses were sheer joy to Kakashi. Kakashi finally insisted upon one for the long run, and Itachi found himself in a long, drawn-out kiss with Kakashi, soft, full lips pressed to his own. Itachi's tongue teased at Kakashi's lips, which parted eagerly for him. Itachi pushed into Kakashi's mouth with a soft groan, hands moving to Kakashi's shoulders. One hand slowly moved up Kakashi's back to rest behind the jounin's silver hair, supporting his head. Kakashi moved closer to Itachi, and the Uchiha tightened his grip. He shoved his tongue down further into Kakashi's mouth, kissing him even more deeply than before. Kakashi opened his mouth for a small gasp, and Itachi only pushed deeper, hitting the back of Kakashi's throat now. Kakashi whimpered, but did not pull away.

He was afraid.

Itachi pulled back, leaving his love with a soft, chaste kiss. "Love, I'm sorry," he whispered, stroking the side of Kakashi's face. "But you have to tell me when I go too far, alright?" As he touched Kakashi, Itachi noticed a small shiver of pain. It was hardly there, but still…he stepped back from Kakashi, holding the suddenly-trembling jounin at arm's length. He held up a hand as Kakashi stepped forward, instructing him to stay where he was, and formed a single hand sign.

"Kai!"

The genjutsu fell away, and the terrible bruises were revealed.

Kakashi's entire face was bruised, and his stomach bore marks as well, obviously from kicks. Itachi could only stare for a moment, watching Kakashi's eyes tear up, and then reached forward and pulled him into his arms again. "Pein?" he whispered, and felt the affirmative nod against his chest. The tears spilled over and came down, and all Itachi could do was comfort Kakashi and reassure he was there for him.

"He touched me."

Itachi knew exactly what Kakashi meant without having to ask; would it always end like this? "Love, he can't hurt you anymore," Itachi promised. "I made sure of that. He-he won't be bothering us again…ever…"

Kakashi nodded, knowing fell well what Itachi was implying. He had killed Pein. But for now…for now, there was nothing in the world that could hurt Kakashi. There was simply too much going on for that. The chaos could prevent anything from happening. "Kakashi…come on, do you want something to eat?" Kakashi shrugged, not really sure at this point. He was happy where he was. Itachi sighed.

"Fine, then: you're getting dressed, at least halfway, and we're eating breakfast."

"Fine."

Kakashi got dressed without a word, brushing his teeth and running a comb through his hair. It still hadn't stood back up from the way it had fallen down around his face in captivity-maybe it had just grown that way now, weighted down with blood. Itachi got dressed as well, taking over the bathroom after Kakashi. He found the jounin in the kitchen, making coffee and just kind of standing around. He looked lost in thought, and Itachi decided not to disturb him. He got a cup of coffee for himself and set about making breakfast, taking sips of coffee along the way.

"How can you drink it like that?"

Itachi turned away from the stove at the sound of Kakashi's voice. "Huh?"

Kakashi's head dipped towards Itachi's coffee. "Black like that," he said. "It's so strong…doesn't taste good."

Itachi shrugged. "I'm still a teenager," he said. "It's an acquired taste, yes, but it's the only thing heavy-duty enough to wake me up."

"Hm…"

"I'm going to take it you like yours really light?"

"To an extent…little milk never hurt anyone."

Itachi shrugged and put the eggs he was making on two plates. "Make of that what you will," he said, handing one to Kakashi and proceeding to sit down at the table with the other. On the way, he grabbed an orange from the refrigerator and a pair of chopsticks from the drawer next to the sink. "Come here," he said. "Sit." Kakashi slowly sat down across from Itachi, and the two ate without a word. There wasn't much to say at this point; it was just the two of them, and they had run out of things to say with much meaning.

A knock on the door startled both men out of their reverie.

Kakashi stood up, grabbed his mask from his room, and slipped it on over his face. Despite going without it for so long, he still wore it in front of everyone-except Itachi. Kakashi opened the door and looked around-

Only to see Sasuke standing there.

"Look, I wanted to talk to you," Sasuke said roughly. Kakashi wordlessly stepped aside, and Sasuke entered his apartment. "About Itachi." Kakashi closed the door and slowly moved towards Sasuke, who was standing, as if frozen, at the end of the hallway.

Itachi stood up, staring at Sasuke.

"Any reason you're here?"

"I wanted to talk to Kakashi," the younger Uchiha snarled, _"Alone."_

"Sasuke, after the way you hurt him last time, you think I'm going to just leave and wait for you to do it again? Not a shot. Anything you say to Kakashi you can say to me."

Sasuke shrugged. "Fine," he snapped, and turned back to Kakashi. "But stay out of it," he said, momentarily turning his head back to Itachi. Finally, his attention was focused solely on Kakashi. "What do you see in him?! He almost killed you, Kakashi! He's the one that captured you to begin with, and look where that ended you! You're not the same, Kakashi, and you never will be. And it's all because of this man who you think loves you. What else can I do, smack you? It won't do anything-the two of you are too sickly in love with each other. God only knows when he's just going to snap and reveal his true intentions! Kakashi, I care about you, everyone here does! And yet you choose him? Out of all the bastards in the world, hell, you could have picked even Orochimaru and I wouldn't care, but here you pick the one person I have sworn to kill, and now I can't kill him because the two of you are 'in love.' What am I supposed to do now?! I have no purpose in life now, Kakashi, and he's only going to hurt you in the end. Give up on Itachi."

Kakashi only looked shocked at first. Then, his head slowly lowered, and one hand moved to his mask. "Sasuke," he whispered, "I want you to see something." He slowly pulled down the mask, revealing the bruises speckled across his pale skin. "See this one?" he murmured, motioning to one bruise across his cheek. It was clearly a handprint: one that was clearly imprinted on Kakashi's face. Itachi understood what Kakashi meant, and stepped closer to him. He exactly matched up his hand with the bruise, making sure not to press too hard.

"It's too big to be Itachi's."

Sasuke's eyes widened at the sight: and not just the sudden discovery. The bruises were also spread across Kakashi's neck, and from what Sasuke could see, Kakashi's slender wrists were bruised as well. "Who did this?" he whispered, as Itachi pulled Kakashi's mask back up. "I'm going to kill him, too-!"

"Itachi beat you to it."

Itachi nodded slowly and wrapped one arm around Kakashi's shoulders. "It was Pein-the leader of Akatsuki," he said. "He found out where we were, snuck in, snuck Kakashi out, and beat him. I woke up when he came back and started screaming at me, and I killed him. I went to find Kakashi just as he came to find me. I'm guessing he was tied down or locked in a closet or something, and told to stay, and security was a bit lax…Pein got lazy, thinking Kakashi was too scared to do anything in defiance of him. That what happened?"

Kakashi nodded. He was not blind to the fact that Itachi had neglected to mention the other form of abuse he was receiving, but decided it was best to leave it. "He'll be coming back, though," he murmured, "With another body. But for now, we're alright."

Sasuke glared. "I'm still not comfortable with this."

Itachi sighed. "Get used to it," he said, "because we're not breaking up."

Sasuke's deadly glare did not cease. "Well, let me know when you do," he snapped, "Because the second you break his heart Itachi, I'll break something of yours."

The door slammed behind him.

Kakashi gave a small sigh of defeat and fell into Itachi's waiting arms. "You're alright," Itachi whispered, running one hand through Kakashi's hair, "You're alright. Sasuke's accepted us, and so has Tsunade. Pein and Kisame are dead, and we're both still alive and happy. What else could we need?"

A small smile came over Kakashi's face, and the mask came down again. "Absolutely nothing," he replied softly, and Itachi's lips met his.

OOOOOOOOO

Spiraled eyes slowly opened, and a borrowed body slowly shifted. Many facial piercings reflected the meager light, and a blonde ponytail swayed with the motioned of a body sitting up. A black-and-red clouded cloak swished as the figure stood upright, and walked out of a darkened room.

"You alive?"

Konan stood next to Pein, watching his movements with curiosity. "That's it," Pein gasped, "I'm done with the brat!"

**A/N: End. ****Finis.****Exeunt.**** Anyway, there will be a sequel, the last of the trilogy, and it will be called The Dance. I have already started work on it, so keep an eye out! Thank you to everyone who reviewed; I love you!!**


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